


Seer of Southdown Base

by Alittleauthor



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Firefly
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefly Setting, Angst and Humor, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2019-11-13 05:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18025469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alittleauthor/pseuds/Alittleauthor
Summary: School teaches us many things. Math, English, Mandarin, Science, and the History of Earth-that-was. They teach pollution destroyed the world. That lesson is wrong.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Firefly, I think we all know who owns those masterpieces. 
> 
> A/N: This takes place after the last episode of Firefly but before the movie.

"You want a story? Fine, I'll tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a warrior. She was the fiercest warrior on the planet. She was courageous, brave, strong, and beautiful. She led an army of warriors just like her. They fought the powers of darkness. However she did not lead this army alone she was accompanied by her sorceress and knight. Together they were a force to be reckoned with and the darkness didn't stand a chance. But then the darkness began to grow. It became stronger than they ever could have imagined. They began to lose each battle they fought against the darkness. They knew if they didn't think of something they would lose the war. So the sorceress came up with a spell. A horrible spell that no one could see the impact of except for the knight. When the knight tried to tell the sorceress and warrior about his misgivings, they dismissed him and sent him on a different quest to keep him out of the way. Then they performed the spell."

"What happened?"

"They destroyed the world."

-Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

An upbeat crowd filled a rickety old bar. Every scratched table was occupied. People laughed and shouted gleefully while several others sang off-key along with a young man playing his guitar in the corner. In the midst of the raucous assembly only one person did not fit in. A man in his late twenties huddled over his tankard at the bar. A pair of sunglasses hid his eyes and whether they were twitching around the room or fixated on his drink. Dark brown hair barely covered his pale head and failed to conceal a few scars. A black cloak was draped around his broad shoulders and fell down around him like the night. Silence and a slight tension seemed to emit from him. 

However his demeanor had no effect on the people around him. An older gentleman clinked his glass against the solemn man’s tankard before swallowing a large gulp. Two younger women in their late teens hugged the lonely man before giggling and running to join a group of similar aged girls. A very pregnant woman patted him on the shoulder before being pulled back into the crowd. The man never acknowledged any of the interactions. He only interacted with the bartender to growl for another drink. The jolly bartender kept his glass full of hard liquor but also ice.

The wooden bar door creaked open barely heard over the roaring of the room. The bartender immediately looked for a few new glasses. The quiet man turned slightly and angled his head in the direction of the newcomers. Four people, three men and a woman, stopped in the entrance to survey the establishment, perhaps searching for a friend or counting the exits. The woman and two of the men wore old and worn clothing however the last man, an older gentlemen, was clad in a shepherd’s attire. Both the woman and older gentleman had darker skin tones than compared to their friends. All but the shepherd carried at least one weapon upon their person. After a moment they walked towards the bar and the only open spot, two stools on either side of the cloaked man who had turned away again.

The woman and one of the men sat on the left open seats. The other pale, more muscled man mounted his stool on the right while the shepherd squeezed in between him and the silent figure at the bar. “Pardon me,” the shepherd nearly shouted to be heard. He did a double take after his first glance at the man on his left. His voice barely above a whisper, he breathed, “Seer?” The shepherd grasped the man’s shoulder. “Seer,” he spoke louder this time with conviction.

Seer tilted his head to the side toward the shepherd. His voice was rough as if it had spent hours screaming. "Is that a preacher I hear? Johnny, you let a preacher in here?" The loud tone and slurred words drew the attention of the bartender, Johnny.

Johnny rushed over to the group. His smile slipped a fraction as he addressed the angry drunk. "Now Seer, you know I ain't going to refuse customers just cause you got a problem with the church. What I can do is ask these nice folks to switch tables with the Conels." Johnny started to wave over a group of girls. Johnny quickly ducked as a tankard crashed on the wall high over his head. 

"No preachers!" Seer shouted standing up while vaguely gesturing to the man next to him. 

The shepherd stood as well grabbing Seer by the arms and gasped. "Dear God, did you actually do it? Tell me you didn't." With one trembling hand, he removed Seer’s sunglasses and breathed a sigh of relief when two honey brown eyes were revealed.

"What? Tear out my eyes? Don't be stupid,” Seer chided while teetering unsteadily, “that doesn't work. Only took three times to realize that." Seer gave a hollow laugh.

The shepherd’s beefy companion was busy chugging his beer but the other man stepped up beside Seer. He placed a hand on both of the of the men’s shoulders in a friendly gesture. "Now Shepherd,” he coaxed, “why don't you let the nice man go, and we can switch places with the Conels?"

Seer's eyes immediately focused on the cajoling man. "You!" He growled before jumping on the man punching wildly. "Take it back! Take it back!"

The two men fell to the ground. Seer fought by swinging at almost a frenzied speed. The man could do nothing but try to protect his head. "A little help!" He barked.

“Can't I finish my beer first, Mal?" the lone man at the bar said without turning around. 

"Jayne! Zoe!"

The woman, Zoe, cocked her rifle loudly beside Seer’s head. He ignored the sound and continued to beat down on the man below him. His hits lacked brute strength; it was only the rapid repetition that kept the fallen man pinned. 

The rest of the room was not as oblivious to danger as Seer was. The cacophony had disappeared and only the sounds of thudding flesh filled the room. About twenty of the occupants, included Johnny, pointed various weapons at the group. 

Zoe didn’t lower her gun an inch and kept her eyes on Seer. “You can point all the guns you like but I won’t watch my Captain be lightly beaten to death.” 

“Hey!” Mal protested.

Johnny had his shotgun trained on Jayne who had his hands raised slightly. “Seer!” Johnny called. “Seer, let him go.” When the man continued his attack, Johnny shouted, “Seer!” Shepherd crouched down beside Seer close enough that he had to duck a few times. Johnny swung his gun towards the shepherd. “Don’t be getting involved, I’m not above shooting a shepherd to save a friend.”

Shepherd held out a hand calling for patience. He leaned close to whisper in Seer’s ear, “What do you see?”

“The preacher,” he growled landing another flurry of blows. “He won’t get me this time. I won’t let him.”

His tone was level in a sharp contrast to Seer’s. “I asked you what you see.”

Seer faltered and his hands fell to his sides. Mal risked lowering his arms and a shuddering breath ran through Seer. He closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. Suddenly all the tension left his body. "A passing resemblance," Seer answered finally.

"Good," Shepherd said. “Now let him up, Seer.”

Seer appeared confused and stood slowly. “Oh, right.”

"Captain?" Zoe continued to keep Seer in her gun’s sights. 

“I’m fine Zoe. Nothing a good drink can’t fix.” Mal brushed dirt from his trousers as he stood. His face was free of blood and any bruises at the moment.

"While I’m sure you are fine folks, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave my bar." Johnny gestured at the door with his gun. “I won’t ask more than twice.”

Shepherd turned and put a hand on Seer's shoulder. "Not without him."

Johnny used his gun to knock away Shepherd's hand. “I don't know who you think you are, but you can't just come in here and take honest folk away like you own them. Especially one that saved my daughter and wife from a group of bandits just last week. So walk out of here while you still can.”

"Shepherd, what are you doing?" Mal glanced at him with wide eyes. "These folks are going to be nice enough to let us go without bullet holes riddling our bodies. Don’t be testing their limits. You are not allowed to take that boy."

Shepherd raised an eyebrow, "Seer?"

Seer glanced at the preacher whose face showed only concern. He sighed and held out his hands. "Fine, take me to your leader. Actually,” he paused and retracted his hands, “don't. Take me to your leader's one-hundred-second in line for command. I liked him. He cooked a mean chicken. I didn't think anything could make that bastard taste good." 

"Seer, you don't have to go with them," Johnny pleaded. "There are only four of them and we are more than willing to get rid of them."

"If I don't go with them, there will be more. Well, not them." He gestured at Zoe, Jayne, and Mal before jerking his thumb at the shepherd. "Mostly more like him. Don't worry about me. Just remember Tuesdays suck, and you'll be fine.” Cocking his head to the side, he asked, “What's today?"

"Tuesday," Johnny supplied.

"See, there you have it." Seer started to walk out of the bar with Shepherd close behind. Guns slowly lowered all around the bar. The cheery atmosphere gone, replaced with sadness. Mal, Zoe, and Jayne quickly followed them out of the bar.

However as soon as they were outside, Mal stopped them. "I don't know what the hell you think you're playing at Shepherd, but-"

Shepherd placed a hand on the Captain's shoulder. "I will pay.” His tone left no room for disagreement. “All I want you to do is take him to Savage Garden. He will stay in my quarters and I won't let him out of my sight. Think of him as cargo-"

"That talks, breathes, and eats," Seer mumbled.

"Like the cows only with less mess," Shepherd finished. 

“Are you calling me fat?” Seer demanded trying to glare holes into Shepherd.

"Sounds a mite more like kidnapping to me,” Mal said crossing his arms. “One more thing that we should really not concern ourselves with."

"I will pay you up front. I know we need some new parts for the engine. I will cover those and give you some extra," Shepherd paused seeming to collect his thoughts. "This man is one of my flock. He needs to be looked after, I'm just going to take him him home."

"If that's what you want to tell your God at night before you sleep," Seer mumbled again before rubbing his bloodshot eyes. "I need a drink."

"When did you start drinking?" Shepherd asked managing to leave the question free of accusation.

"None of your business." Seer made to take a step forward but tripped falling onto the dirt road. He grabbed a handful of grit and let it trickle through his fingers. “Was this ground ever green?” Shepherd offered a hand to help him up. However it took a few moments before Seer grabbed his hand. 

“Zoe, Jayne. Get back to the ship, tell Wash we need to leave immediately.” Mal waited for them to leave before he said, “You listen here, Shepherd. This boy is your responsibility. He do any harm and I will shoot you and most likely him. Now that's something I would prefer not to do.” He looked at Seer. “And at any moment this boy says he don't want to go, or he is being kidnapped, we'll drop him off on the nearest planet. Understand?” Seer did not so much as glance at Mal; his gaze fixated on the road. The Captain turned the younger man's face so that he was looking at him. “Do you understand?”

“I understand.” Seer nodded his head out of Mal’s grip. “I have the right to remain silent. Which I choose to ignore. I have the right to an eternity on a god forsaken planet that I shouldn't even know about.” Seer shouted the last part into the Captain's face.

“Let me know when he's sober, then you, him, and me will be having some words,” Mal said before turning on his heel.

Shepherd and Seer followed them at a slower pace. Mostly because Seer kept tripping, trying to reach for the ground again. The men eventually made it onto the ship. As they walked on board, the ready to take off was given. Shepherd tried to quickly herd Seer into his room before they ran into anyone. However the attempt proved to be unsuccessful. 

A teenage girl popped out of a corner and began walking towards them. She stopped as soon as she caught sight of Seer. He focused on her slowly. “Don't you dare. My thoughts are my own. And if need be my mind will eat yours. All in one gulp.”

She let out a shriek before running away screaming, “Simon!”

“Seer, she's just a child,” Shepherd chided him and hurried their pace.

“She's a Reader,” Seer corrected. “And she's got no walls. Hopefully, I just scared some into place. Dunno though. She seemed weird. Something's eating on the inside. Why were her walls down?” Seer stumbled through the doorway into Shepherd's room. 

Shepherd made him sit down on the bed. “Hands.”

“Two. If I was Stitch I'd have four. If I was-”

“Hands, Seer.” Shepherd said in the same quiet tone. Seer held out his hands allowing them to be handcuffed to the bed frame. The preacher reached for a bag on the floor.

“No!” Seer gasped and pulled back on the handcuffs. “Please,” he begged, “I don't want to sleep.” Shepherd pulled out a rectangular box containing a syringe and vial. “Don't make me sleep. Please.” Seer’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“You need sleep, Seer. You're still human, and judging by your eyes you haven't slept in a week,” Shepherd said soothingly filling the syringe. 

“Sixteen days but then who's counti- No!” Seer screamed as Shepherd quickly stuck the syringe into his forearm. He caught the man’s head as he fell over and gently pulled the needle. Shepherd laid him across the bed so he would be comfortable. Seer tried to keep his eyes from closing but it was a losing battle. He began to mutter, “It's too dark. The monsters are coming. They were wrong. So wrong. Oh God, they're coming.”


	2. Chapter 2

"A name? Why? Telling you my name won't help you learn about me. The books that would have contained it were never written. The internet was destroyed in the Fall. All that data, everything we knew, gone. In one day, actually in one hour to be specific. Even if some piece of information survived, it wouldn't help you. Who I was can't be defined in a name. My titles would tell you more about me than my name. Is it still believed that knowing someone's true name gives you power over them? So much of the lore was lost. So many things I believed nobody even knows about. I don't know if I even actually exist anymore. Am I really here, or have I finally died? I don't know. The name I would have once used is gone. It will never have anymore power. That name is dead and so is the man who bore it."

"So what should we call you?"

"I don't know."

-Archives from Southdown Base

* * *

Seer gasped harshly as he managed to claw his way back up from unconsciousness. He opened his eyes to slits. The dim lights in the room barely allowed him to discern his surroundings. An empty room, free of a preacher, yet a bundle of blankets and a Bible neatly stacked in the opposite corner showed where Shepherd had slept. 

Still, Seer held his current position. He listened for any sound other than his own breathing and the hum of the ship. Voices on the other side of the door caused him to tilt his ear towards the noise. Mal and Shepherd were having a heated argument. 

"It's been a day," the Captain sounded agitated.

"Yes, Mal, it has. And he's been asleep all that time. I was not lying to you when I said he needed to be looked after. If he could live without sleeping he would. God knows he tries. Most likely he hasn't slept in three days. And the days before that he probably has not had more than five hours of sleep in all that time. He has to be sedated to sleep. I don't like doing it, but it is necessary," Shepherd confessed.

“Nightmares?”

“I don't know what he dreams, he refuses to tell anyone. But it must have been burned into his eyes, and I believe that's all he sees when he sleeps.”

A long pause ensued before Mal finally responded, "Alright. Let me know when he wakes up and feels human enough to talk." Then two sets of footsteps faded to the edge of Seer's hearing. 

Seer sat up slowly, trying not to yank at the handcuffed that secured him to the bed. He failed hissing in pain as they dug into his wrists. Said wrists were poorly wrapped underneath the handcuffs. A bit of blood stained the cloth and redden skin peeked out from the edges. Seer assumed he had fought too much in his sleep and caused the damage himself. He finally managed to get comfortable by sitting on the end of the bed with his back against the wall. Seer stared at the door in front of him, willing it to open.

The grey door slid open slowly revealing the teenage girl from before. "I calculated that I could talk to you for seventy-three seconds before I would start reading your mind," she said leaning on the door.

"Walls?" Seer wondered.

"Ripped down."

"Why?"

"Someone wasn't very careful when they were playing mad scientist. Or,” She scratched at the door with a fingernail. “maybe they were too exact. Maybe that's what they were trying to do. I don't know. No walls, no moat, no raging wall of fire, the door's wide open. Everyone can get in."

"Chomp."

The girl let out a squeak before running away. A shout floated down the hallway. Shepherd’s concerned voice came after. "River?"

"Big teeth!" 

Shepherd frowned as he hurried into his room. "Seer, why are you tormenting that poor girl? You don't even have the excuse of being drunk anymore." He placed a tray filled with food on the nightstand.

"I didn't have the excuse of being drunk before; Johnny kept watering down my drinks. He also kept pretending to not hear me when I wanted another shot," Seer said and held out his hands to Shepherd. "And for the record, that is not tormenting. I'm instilling survival instincts in her. I meant what I said. My mind will eat her whole. Like a tasty dessert possibly something cream filled."

Shepherd sighed as he removed the handcuffs from Seer. "I need to fix your bandages. You barely stopped flailing around enough that I could even get close to you." 

Seer let out a huff but continued to hold out his hands, "I'm not a child. I can bleed wherever I want to."

"Don't you mean you can take care of yourself?" Shepherd asked as he redressed the wounds.

"No," Seer said once the other man was done. 

Shepherd sat at the other end of the bed and placed the tray beside him. “Eat, Seer.” He waited silently as Seer poked at the food on the tray. The man had barely eaten a fourth of the food before he put the tray back on the nightstand and leaned once more against the wall. The room filled with an uncomfortable silence. Seer had crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the ceiling.

"Why did you run away from Southdown?" Shepherd asked.

"I sensed an evil in the halls. Tomar? Tony? Thompson?" Seer said before looking at Sheppard, "I didn't run away; I escaped. There's a difference. Escaping requires knockout gas. You should remember this. Actually maybe you shouldn't.” He turned his head away.

“We were keeping you safe, or would you rather the Alliance had found out about you. That girl, River, the one you keep trying to eat, the Alliance found out about her. She's a Reader. They took away her ability to control it. They made her a weapon, a tool for their use." Shepherd looked at Seer searching for something.

When Seer finally looked back at Shepherd, his expression was angry, "And you know why they were able to do that? Because you didn't LISTEN!" He jumped off the bed but misjudged his footing and ended stumbling over the blankets on the floor. Luckily, he caught himself on the small desk in the room. “I told you-” He didn't turn around as he spoke, “but that doesn't matter now does it? You didn't listen to me. None of you did. You’ve been listening for so long. It figures the one time you didn't worlds would go up in flames. Seems to be a recurring theme. Over and over. I wonder how Bill Murray would have handled this?” 

“Seer, to be fair, you are quite hard to understand at times you are...” Shepherd paused.

Seer turned slightly, “Bat shit crazy?”

He left out a small laugh, “Not the exact phrasing I would have used, but yes something along those lines.” They lapsed into silence once more. 

Seer struggled to push himself away from the desk. Eventually, he gave up and collapse bonelessly to the floor. “So are you going to lock me in the tower? No not the tower, you don't have a tower. Send me somewhere with a tower. I liked seeing the sky, even if the moons are never right.”

“I don't want to lock you up, Seer. I want you taken care of.” Shepherd sighed. “To put it bluntly you look horrible. Not having a full night's sleep in sixteen days. You look like you haven't eaten in the last week or two. You smell like you haven’t taken a shower in a week as well. Something we need to fix. In fact the only well kept thing about you is your hair.”

Seer rolled his eyes up trying to see his hair. “It kept getting in the way. I had to cut it. Besides too much hair, it could crush the brain you know. And I don't have magic Shepherd powers to keep it from crushing my brain.”

“You may want to talk to River about that.” Shepherd smirked.

“Seventy-three seconds,” Seer muttered so low that Shepherd didn’t hear him.

“You can talk to ArchBishop Quaye about the tower. I'm sure he'll have a few things to say to you,” Shepherd said.

Seer twitched and his arm jerked of the floor. “Tensin? Toby? Quaye never listened, no matter how many times I called.”

Shepherd crouched down beside Seer and said, “Seer?”

Seer’s eyes became unfocused as he continued to jabber, “I think I lost the area code. Do we still have area codes? Maybe they're planet codes. He stopped answering. Every code, I tried no response.” 

Two hard knocks vibrated the door before Mal slid it open. “Shepherd?” He looked around before finding the two men on the floor. “Ah, I see our guest is awake.”

“I prefer guest-age,” Seer mumbled to himself.

Mal knelt down beside Seer cautiously He waved a hand in front of Seer’s face. When he failed to track it Mal looked sharply at Shepherd. “Did you drug him?” 

Shepherd shook his head, “I'm afraid this is how he normally is. His moments of lucidity come and go. Unfortunately, it's usually worse after he's been asleep. Had you been in here earlier, he made have made more sense. But you can never know with Seer. In some ways, he is as damaged as River.”

“Is he a Reader?” Mal asked.

“No, he-”

Seer's eyes focused suddenly, and he grabbed Mal's arm. “Brown coat weren't you? You’re still wearing their colors. The armor of a brown coat. Leading man in the battle of Serenity, that's your ship's name isn't it? You failed once on Serenity, but the second time around you won't. This battle, this Serenity, you can control. You can be in charge of. But did you know you could have won the battle? You could have won the war. You wouldn't have lost so many men.” He released the startled man’s arm, “But these kids these days, they just don't listen. Listening requires more than ears you know.” He continued to mutter to himself. 

“He sounds like a Reader.” Mal stood up. “How did that town accept him?”

Shepherd shrugged and stood as well. “He most likely had a drink in his hand at all times. Everyone always seem to underestimate him.” Shepherd nodded his head once and added, “Or the first thing he did when he got to that little town was to save the wife and daughter of the barman. He’s surprisingly good at saving people despite his... mental facilities.”

“Right,” Mal drew out the word slowly. With a thumb he gestured back towards the door. “Well I'm going to go and try to find a non-crazy populated part of the ship. As hard as that may be. I advise you to keep him here.” Mal started to leave but turned around at the last second. “And don't let him have any knives.”

Seer laughed, “Knives who needs knives, do you know what I could do with a spoon?”


	3. Chapter 3

"Sleep? That would be a big no. A huge emphatic no. Like a plane writing in the sky no. So my eyes are a little bloodshot, no big deal. You’d be surprised how long a person can go without sleep. I've gone twenty-three days once. A personal best if I do say so myself. The only problem is crashing. Crashing makes me stay asleep too long. I can't stay in the dark that long. Repressed memories are great, the only problem, you can't repress as well in your sleep. Think of the most horrible thing you can imagine. Then multiply it by a billion. You wouldn't be so praising of sleep either. It's day number fourteen, if I close my eyes for an hour I can be fine for another fourteen days."

"A person shouldn't have to live like that."

"What's in your hand?"

-Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

Getting Seer cleaned was a challenge. He refused to get in the shower. The first excuse he gave: “A person can’t fit in that shower. What type of creature was it built for? A leprechaun, no don’t be stupid leprechauns don’t exist. If we crash while I’m in that thing I won’t exist. I won’t die in the shower. Not gonna happen. Learn to live with my smell.” Twenty minutes and a brief clothed demonstration later, Seer had a new reason to abstain from showering. “It’s demonic water. I know you don’t believe in demons anymore. So many different types of demons. Which one spits in the water to make it glow? But a glow stick would be a better effect. Why is space water so blue? It’s not right!” It took a little more time for Seer’s mind to be put at ease and eventually he entered the shower. Shepherd waited outside the bathroom patiently reading his bible. An hour and a half later a clean Seer clad in fresh clothes emerged from the shower. 

"Feeling better?" Shepherd asked as he stood up.

"Yep. Had to bless the water. I'm not sure how well it took but it should hold," Seer said looking suspiciously at the shower. Shepherd lead him away to a new part of the ship for Seer, the infirmary. When they entered River was arguing with a man with similar features who looked a few years older than her.

"Simon!" River shouted while stopping her foot. Then she turned and looked at Seer. "I have to go. The teeth are too sharp." She smirked while saying, "They should probably see a dentist, they look old." Seer smiled at her causing her to squeak. Simon tried to hold on to her but she kicked him in the shins and ran off.

"And who might this be?" Simon asked rubbing his injured limb.

Shepherd walked over to Simon. "This is Seer. He's one of my flock.” The preacher gestured from Seer to join them. “You might find that he reminds you of your sister in some ways.”

“Did the Alliance-”

“No.” Shepherd cut him off. At Simon’s startled look, he amended, “The Alliance had nothing to do with it.” He placed a hand on Seer’s shoulder and led him to sit on the bed. “Do you mind checking him out? He’s a bit worse for the wear." 

“Of course,” Simon said reaching for his kit. Seer held out his wrists at shoulder height. Blood oozed from his wrists; any potential scabs had been removed by his vigorous shower. Simon gently administered antiseptic and asked, “How did this happen?" 

"Ever gone to bed in handcuffs?" Seer asked.

Simon began to wrap the man’s wrists. “No. I can't say that I have."

"I don't recommend it. And what they tell you about fur lined cuffs, that's bull. They still hurt. In fact, they hurt worse cause then the fur gets stuck in the blood and when it dries you have to rip it out. I suggest leather. Or possibly a silk tie though that probably doesn't work as well." Seer stared at the steel cabinets. His head nodded slightly as if he was counting. 

Simon looked back at Shepherd and raised an eyebrow, "That's very informative. Thank you." Seer nodded his head once. Simon continued to look over Seer. Occasionally he would make a disapproving sound. "Does your shoulder hurt?" Simon asked lightly touching Seer’s left arm.

"Only if I remember I have one. It was in my way, I had to fix that. But it was okay, things that aren't there anymore can't hurt. Although my eye was always itchy. It's hard scratching something that isn't there. Sometimes I forget I have two," Seer said.

"Your shoulder is dislocated.” Simon tsked before walking over to one of the drawers to pull out a syringe. “Let me give you something for the pain then I’ll pop your shoulder back in place.” Simon moved slowly yet confidently. 

When the needle was an inch away from Seer's skin, he grabbed Simon's wrist. "What is that?" he hissed.

"It's just a pain killer, Seer. It will also help the inflammation in your shoulder.” Simon’s tone was filled with patience.

Seer turned his head to stare at the doctor. His bloodshot eyes bore holes into Simon. “No more sleep,” he said each word on its own breath.

Simon clucked his tongue once and laid his hand atop Seer’s. “This won’t make you sleep. It will just dull the pain. If you truly don’t want it, I will put the needle back in its case.”

“It’s okay.”

“You would like the shot?”

“Okay,” Seer repeated no longer fixated on Simon.

"Seer, you have to let go of my wrist if you want me to give you the shot," Simon said attempting to hold back a smile. 

Seer looked down at his hand in surprise. One whispered conversation later, he appeared to have won an argument against his hand, and he let go of Simon. “Whoops,” he muttered.

Simon quickly injected him and returned the syringe to its case. He positioned his hands carefully on Seer, and with a quick motion and a loud pop, the man’s shoulder was popped back into place. "Alright,” Simon said removing his gloves, “other than your wrists and shoulder, the only other problem you should be aware of is that you're a bit malnourished. Shepherd, make sure he’s eating regularly, hearty meals. Other than that you are free to go."

Shepherd balanced Seer from his ungraceful leap off the bed. They walked out of the infirmary and straight into another a person. A young woman wearing a green jumpsuit and grease all over her person smiled widely. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't see you, Book. I guess I was too busy thinking about that damn part we're missing. I mean if I can bypass..." She rambled to a stop when she noticed Seer. "Hi!” she chirped. “Captain didn't tell us we had a new passenger. I'm Kaylee."

Seer tilted his head and looked her up and down. "I didn't know you could bottle up sunshine in a person. Dawn on the other hand is easy. But eventually she escaped, we couldn't keep her bottled up forever. Sorry ignore my ramblings I'm usually crazy." He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Seer."

Kaylee's smile did not dim a watt. She shook his hand firmly. "So you're the reason we're making a side trip to Savage Garden? I've never been there before. But isn't that where your abbey is, Book? Southdown, right?"

"Yes, hopefully I can convince our Captain to stay a day or two so I can visit with some of my friends," Shepherd said.

"So how come you’re going to Savage Garden, Seer? That's a really interesting name by the way," Kaylee added curiosity tinting her words.

"It was brought to my attention that I forgot to say goodbye to some people when I left.” He frowned at Shepherd for a moment. “So I was convinced that I should go back and rectify this situation.”

“Oh well some people just can’t do goodbyes. Not me though.” Kaylee remarked shaking her head. “All people need is a hug or a kiss and they know they’ll be missed. And that’s all you need to do.” 

“I didn't choose it." 

“What?” Kaylee wrinkled her nose in confusion.

“My name.” Seer shrugged and looked at his feet. "A Bishop did."

"So that ain't your real name? What is?" Kaylee asked.

Seer shrugged again. "Dunno. It was a long time ago. Seer works. I'm sure it could have been much worse. Like Zeppo. I hated that name."

Shepherd regarded Seer in surprise. He had never heard him admit anything about his true name. Nothing in the archives mentioned a possible name or title. “What’s a Zeppo?” Shepherd inquired.

“Not a me.” Seer glared back at the preacher.

After a tense moment Kaylee broke the silence. "Well I think Seer fits you just fine. You look all seeing to me any way. Seeeeeeeeee” she drew out the word, “you all later." As she moved past the men, she touched both their arms in a friendly gesture.

Seer watched her go with a longing in his eyes. "Shepherds,” he grumbled, “bishops, priests, cardinals. They're all guys. They're all preachers. They don't have any girls.” He put his hands over his face as he spoke, “I always said too much girl time, no more shoes, no more chick flicks, no dishing of the cutest guy at the schools.” His hands fell back to his sides smacking against his legs. “It's been a long time. I believe that will be my excuse to ArchBishop Quaye. I needed to see girls. At least, if I remember it I'm sure it'll be a good excuse. Much better than the voices in my head told me to do it. Although the second one is probably more believable. Except the voices in my head would have said dynamite. If you want to get rid of evil prime, fertilizer is the way to go. But I couldn't get to the farm," Seer said as Shepherd guided them back to his room. Upon entering, Seer surveyed it carefully before picking up a pillow and setting it in the corner. Then he sat on top of it and leaned against the wall. He had a slight smile on his face. 

However once Shepherd began speaking, his smile turned to a frown. "How did you manage to get off Savage Garden?" Shepherd asked while shutting the door.

"Magic," Seer snapped. His demeanor changed entirely. "How do you think? I flew, like a bird. Or maybe it was Superman."

"Oh, you had no trouble breathing I assume?" Shepherd retorted. He turned the chair by the desk so that he could see Seer when he sat down.

"Of course not, vampires don't need to breathe. Wait... I'm not a vampire.” Seer waggled a finger. “Very clever, sir. I see your point. I'll tell you something, I like you, your death will be quick and painless. No!" Seer shouted. Then he let out a sigh before dropping his head into his hands. "I haven't been out of the base in so long. I didn't care, why should I? Nothing I knew was still around. They told me to meet them there. But I got lost and never made it. Were they ever even there? Did they see a new sky? I couldn't see the sky anymore. The sky I saw was black and filled with screams. I didn't want to see that anymore. I was so afraid that I would walk out of the base and the sky would be black. Turns out it was," he gave a shallow laugh. "Go figure it was night. I was sure there was the screaming again. But then a woman attacked me. No,” he shook his head. “She ran into me. There were monsters. Or,” he paused uncertain. “were they men? I've killed them before. Monsters and men, even them. She grabbed my hand and we ran. Those screams filled the air. Screams. So many screams. And then fire and light filled the sky. The screams stopped. We flew away.” He let his hands fall into his lap. When he lift his face, tears had begun to fall from his eyes. “Was I in heaven? I thought she was dead. But heaven shouldn't hurt this much. First hand knowledge you know, heaven is warm.” Seer started to shiver. “But I'm so cold." 

Sheppard grabbed the blanket off the bed and situated it around Seer. "How did you get to Elkhorn?"

Seer looked at the blanket in confusion. "I'm lost. I've lost my family. What good is this?" He threw it to the floor.

Shepherd looked at him thoughtfully, "Seer, can you remember how you got to Elkhorn?"

Seer shouted and kicked out at the nightstand knocking it over, "Remember! Remember what? Words? Names? Places? People? What? Why can't I remember? Everything bleeds together. All the stories, all the memories. What can I remember?" He slammed his head against the back of the wall. "Boy kills girl. Girl goes evil. Boy loves girl. Girl asks boy out. Girl says hello to boy. No!" He slammed his head again. "I've got it backwards. Girl definitely kills boy."


	4. Chapter 4

"Where are they? They have to be here. I told them to be ready. I told them. She told me she was. I know I helped her pack. No don't take the magna, only one doll for her. If I'm wrong, then I'll make dinner tomorrow. If not, then at least you'll be safe. Please, just listen. I know the plan. It was flawed, but I couldn't fix it in time. I couldn't see the answer. There wasn't enough time. Safe, you're all safe because of me. Find them, you have to find them. They have to be safe. They have to be safe. Please, God, let me have saved them."

"Who do you want us to find?"

"Where are my girls?"

\- Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

Seer stayed in the corner for quite some time. He never shut his eyes for more than a moment. For one hour he would stare intently at the ceiling, in the next he watched Shepherd’s every move, or else the floor would hold all his attention as he muttered to himself. The cycle repeated until Shepherd brought him a tray of steaming food. However Seer ignored the meal in favor of slowly unravelling his blanket. After thirty minutes of Shepherd’s cajoling, he ate about a fourth of it before becoming distracted again. 

Shepherd felt his body tiring as he tried to stay awake with Seer. While Seer did not look agitated, there would be no one else watching him if Shepherd slept for the night. Shepherd could see the practicality of handcuffing the other man to the bed, but he had told him that he was not a prisoner. "Seer?" Shepherd’s voice cut through the ship’s mechanical hum. 

Seer was currently staring at the ceiling. "Yep."

"I'm going to turn in. Could you stay in the room for the night?" Shepherd asked tentatively.

"Yep."

"Would it be okay if I turned off the lights?"

"Yep," Seer repeated his answer, his pitch never changing leaving his tone sounding disinterested.

Shepherd turned off the lights and climbed into his bed. "Good night, Seer."

"Yep," Seer said loudly before he began counting under his breath. "One, two, three." Shepherd fell asleep quickly listening to the sounds of the other man counting. "One thousand seven hundred ninety-eight, one thousand seven hundred ninety-nine, one thousand eight hundred." Seer stopped counting. He held his breath and looked around the room from his position in the corner. Then ever so slowly he began to stand up. His eyes were wide, drinking in any available light. He walked softly to the door, and with the utmost care opened it. He stepped through and shut the door without a single sound being made. First looking left, then right, he slunk to the left eventually ending up in the infirmary. After finding no one, he continued his exploration. He placed his hand on the wall of the ship trailing it behind him. The hall dead-ended into a room filled by a large spinning mechanical cylinder. Steel parts cluttered the entire area with a thin sheen of grease coating every available surface. Seer spun in place and retraced his steps down the the corridor. He noticed a few steps that led upward into a lit room. 

A soft male voice floated to his ears. "I suggest we stop for the night. I am tired and we have been traveling for many nights." The man’s pitch lowered an octave as he continued, "Yes this looks good. I will rest here on the harder ground. You may rest on the softer ground." The false falsetto voice returned, "Oh how nice of you. Yes it is much- Agghhh what is happening? What is this?"

Seer crept up the stairs while crouching low to the floor. This room had a few seats each one surrounded by a dirty console. A pale middle-aged man in a hawaiian shirt sat in front of one station with his back to Seer. His arms moved back and forth as a plastic thudding sounded. Seer moved further into the room to see the two toy dinosaurs being made to fight.

"My name is Bob. You ate my father. Prepare to die." The stegosaurus growled before attacking the larger dinosaur. A laugh bubbled out of Seer causing the man to let out a shriek and turned around. "Who are you?" he demanded as he stood up. 

"Inigo Montoya.” Seer responded with a flourish pretending to hold a sword. “No. Wait.” He sheathed the imaginary sword and shook his head. “I'm Seer." He said before walking closer the console on the other side of the room. 

"Oh, you're Book's passenger.” The man sat back down, picking up a fallen dinosaur. “I'm Wash, the pilot here on our fine Serenity.” Wash abruptly stopped and glanced at Seer nervously. “And you're the one who's suppose to be crazy..." 

Seer shrugged looking at the small, blinking, green lights surrounding a similar light in the center on one of the monitors. "Yeah, but only when I'm awake."

"You're awake right now," Wash said edging slightly away from him.

"Yes, I am," Seer responded firmly as he tapped the monitor screen. Each time he removed his finger a green light would appear replacing the previously black pixel. 

Wash rose from his chair slowly. He noticed Seer’s interaction with the screen and asked, “How are you predicting the ships’ paths?”

Seer shrugged. “Who are they?” he inquired jabbing at a dot closest to the central light.

Wash leaned over to see what Seer was pointing at. "That ship? They're also on their way to Savage Garden. The Captain, a lovely woman, seemed very nice. I believe the name of the ship was Watcher."

Seer tapped the edge of the screen twice. "Watchers never travel alone," he whispered before circling his finger around to the middle of the screen and made a soft exploding sound. Then he walked away.

"Uh, thanks for stopping by." Wash called after him before reaching for the coms to the Captain’s room. "I'm just going to go tell Mal that a crazy person is wandering round the ship. A crazy person who is not River."

Seer moved into the belly of the ship where the largest open space lay. When he reached the center, he spun in a circle before falling to the floor in an undignified heap. Seer began to count while trying to find a comfy spot on the floor. The numbers spilled from his lips without his noticing. He reached seventy-three before cutting off abruptly as images flooded his mind. The images formed the scenes he only saw if he was unconscious. Instead of a dirty steel ceiling, he saw a redheaded middle-aged woman standing atop a dead hill covered in people and monsters fighting. His breath grew harsh as he ran towards her. He jumped over the bodies in his path, the bodies of familiar men and women, and things that shouldn’t exist. Despite the destruction and blood tainting his vision, he rushed on knowing that he had to reach that woman. He screamed as pain surged through his arm and he was hurled to the ground. The woman let out a scream that caused the world to shudder.

“River!” Seer shouted in alarm while jerking into an upright position. “River! Get out! I can't control it!” He clutched at his temples. “River!” 

A piece of flying metal revealed River’s hiding place. She leapt up but stumbled as she landed. She pushed away at invisible enemies and cried out, “Get away!” 

Mal and Simon came running down the stairs followed by almost everyone else on board the ship. “What the hell is going on?!” Mal shouted.

Simon grabbed his screaming sister. “River?” he shouted in concern. “What's wrong? River!” She clutched at her head while her eyes darted back and forth. Her body began to fall to the floor taking Simon with her. She let out one last strangled scream before her voice cut out. Her mouth stayed open in an “o” as well as her eyes leaving her face trapped in a look of horror. Simon waved his hand over her face. “Mei-mei?” he whispered. 

Shepherd knelt beside the seated Seer and quietly asked, “What’s happened to her?”

Seer’s eyes swung wildly back and forth and he breathed, “Oh god, she’s lost in here.” His fingers scrambled at the floor beside him. First his shoulders began to shake than his entire body as if he was in a midst of a seizure. “No. No. No. Nononononononono!” he screamed falling back to the floor.

Shepherd tried to hold him down but was thrown off. “Someone help me!” His cry for help was nearly drowned out by Seer’s screams but Wash ran over. 

Seer continued shouting. “Walls! Doors! Gates! Room, I need a room. I have to save her. Find her. Please, where are you? River!” He shouted her name and the sound filled every portion of the ship. As the echo died, his body stilled. “How do you find a river in an ocean?” he breathed before closing his eyes.

“What's going on?” Kaylee asked from her spot next to Simon. 

Simon had ignored Seer’s outburst to check his sister’s vitals. “River?” His voice was calm but his hands were shaking.”River, say something.”

“Is she alright?” Shepherd asked tentatively.

Simon shook his head. “Her pulse is steady, but she's not responding.” He looked over at Seer. “What the hell did he do?”

Wash sat back on his heels and ran a hand through his hair. After a moment of silence he filled it with, “I was talking to him less than three minutes ago. Sure he seemed a bit off but not violent.”

“He’s not violent.” Shepherd laid a hand on Seer’s trembling shoulder.

“Not violent?” Zoe scoffed. “I suppose that was just an enthusiastic greeting when he met the Captain?”

“That was a misunderstanding,” Shepherd countered.

“There’s some sort of misunderstanding going on. I thought you understood that you were suppose to keep him in your room at all times,” Mal yelled at Shepherd.

“Mal, please keep a level head,” Shepherd said.

“Don't tell me to calm down when one of mine is lying comatose on the floor.” Mal’s voice was harsh but at a lower volume.

Simon meanwhile was struggling to pick up River. “I need to get her to the infirmary.” 

“Jayne, help the doctor take her to the infirmary.” Mal ordered the larger man who grunted but made his way to River. The Captain took a few steps towards the kneeling preacher. “As for you-” The sound of two people screaming as if they were in horrible pain stopped his threat. Both River and Seer’s bodies were rigid; only their mouths opened. 

Shepherd stood up and shouted “Jayne, come back!” 

Jayne had already turned back and after two steps towards Seer the screaming stopped leaving the group in silence. “What in the world?” Jayne said his arms were twitching as if he wanted to drop River.

Mal crossed his arms over his chest. His head turned back and forth between River and Seer before settling on Shepherd. “Explain. And then I'm going to shoot you.”

“Captain,” Kaylee admonished.

“In the leg,” he amended.

“I can't. Not fully,” Shepherd argued and gestured at the man on the floor. “Seer isn't like River. He isn't a Reader; he's,” Shepherd paused to consider his words, “something else. I don't know exactly what happened; I can only guess. They may have to stay physically close for the time being due to their connection.”

“What connection?” Wash wondered.

“From what Seer said earlier, I think she read his mind and got trapped.”

“In his mind?” Simon raised an eyebrow. “How is that even possible?”

“There is more in this ‘verse then we can know or explain. Your sister is special. Take my word that Seer is just as special,” Shepherd said.

“Move them both to the infirmary. Simon check him out as well as your sister,” Mal ordered and walked to where Wash and Shepherd were struggling to lift Seer off the floor. He paused by Shepherd to say in a low tone, “And Shepherd, if the doc can't find a way to fix his sister, then you might want to start having a few words with your God.”


	5. Chapter 5

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Too many. Not enough. Each corner meets the wall. Each wall is connected to to a corner. They can't escape. If they can't escape, how am I suppose to run away? Walls are problematic. You can't go through walls. Walls keep you in. They keep you safe. But what are you suppose to do if you're not alone? Strong walls. Reinforced. But how am I suppose to leave?”

“What about the door?”

“I think she sealed it close.”

-Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

Seer opened his eyes slowly. He stood in a mob of black shadows that swirled around him in a tight circle. Tiny patches of a light pierced through the darkness yet it illuminated nothing. The cacophony that pressed in on him made him clutch his ears in pain. He heard so many different sounds. Screams of every pitch and octave, some of which didn’t even sound human. The clash of weapons and thudding of fists threaded through the screams. Snarls, growls, and a cackling laugh chimed in every few intervals. In every language he heard snippets of talking, shouting, yelling, whispering, crying, coaxing, demanding, and begging words. Above all of that, the cries of a child sobbing made its way to his ears.

“River?” he called out tentatively. The words were sucked out of his mouth and swallowed in the unending noise. He stuck his hand out from his body. Something scratched his hand and before he could even pull it back something else seemed to press a feather light kiss upon the wound. Seer cautiously slide one foot forward, then the other. His feet never left the flat, empty ground. In what felt like hours, he walked in this manner. He was assaulted the entire way but always managed to stay upright. 

Then a staff cracked against his ankles causing him to tumble across the ground which had gone sandy. Brilliant sunlight banished all the shadows. Seer crouched low and raised his arm to block his eyes. An aching pain blossomed on his forearm as a staff connected with his raised arm. Immediately, Seer reached for the offending weapon and yanked. A tall dark man holding onto the other end came flying towards him and with a roll of Seer’s hips his attacker was on the ground. Seer hurriedly surveyed his surroundings. A double ring of black stocky men surrounded him in a large circle in an open plain. All the men wore red and yellow pants but no shirt or shoes. The pants were wide and loose and good for fighting in. Seer spun once taking in the entirety of his current circumstance and stopped. On the outer edge of the ring stood two women and two teenage girls. One of the women and both girls tensed muscles that showed through their sleeveless shirts. They shouted but he heard only the continuingly painful soundtrack that had yet to stop. The youngest girl flashed him a thumbs up sign. That just left the other woman who didn’t seem to belong. She wore a mahogany suit complete with a double breasted jacket buttoned all the way to the top. Her curly hair blended in with the jacket’s shoulders. A bright green blouse matched her luminescent eyes. Pink lips opened and closed as she jumped and waved her arms at him. All of Seer’s attention zoomed in on her. She was important because he knew that he knew her. He realized he knew her name, and he breathed, “Madi.”

Seer shouted as the staff cracked across his back. The force of the blow flung him forward, and he tried to catch himself before he went head first into the crowd of people. Instead of crashing into a rather large muscled man, he found himself landing with a bounce on a suede, tan couch. He was alone laid out comfortably on the couch in a lovely, decorated family room that seemed achingly familiar. The cacophony still bombarded him and he looked for a remote to turn off the television. He jumped to his feet as two teenage girls different than the ones from the earlier scene entered the room. The willowy brunette carried a bowl of popcorn while the shorter, fitter blonde spun a bowl of cheetos on her hand. They smiled and spoke unheard words as they pulled him back onto the couch. Despite the pain from the noise, he felt comfy and almost safe sandwiched between the two young women. Seer had nearly fallen asleep when a bang managed to drown out everything else.

Seer focused on the television screen which showed a bollywood movie. Once again looking out of place, Madi, in her mahogany pant suit, banged from inside the screen. She mouthed the same word over and over again. Seer moved his lips with hers. “River.” He stood in alarm and shouted, “River!” The girls yanked on his sleeves trying to convince him to resume his seat. Seer shrugged them off and rushed to the door. When he swung it open, he was transported to another place. 

Every fifth running step he took changed the scene around him. Certain people and even monsters appeared more often than others in all sorts of different landscapes. Their ages and clothes changed. Other people or monsters he only saw once. There were only two constants, the overbearing clash of sounds that made Seer sure his ears were bleeding, and Madi. Her age, hair, and that mahogany suit with embroidered stitching stayed the same. She popped up in every scene, always shouting at him but he could never hear her. Another near constant was the fighting. He felt he had been searching for River for hours always hampered by monsters and men. A giant man-sized praying mantis nearly decapitated him before he managed to escape the dreary basement it lived in.

Seer looked backward as he ran from the demon bug, and crashed into something that hit him waist level causing him to flip over and fall. He caught a glimpse of the steel railing as he careened backwards before it was replaced with a deep, midnight blue sky filled with stars. A sandy dune finally broke his fall and he tumbled to land face down at the base of it. He groaned in pain and the noise echoed across the sand. Immediately he tensed his entire body. Silence pressed against him. He nearly wept in relief at the lack of sounds.

A rumbling growl issued near his person and Seer’s head shot up. His nose nearly collided with the quivering nose of a hyena the size of a horse. The beast let out another growl. Seer threw himself backwards in an attempt to crabwalk away. The beast made no move as he bumped into something solid. Again Seer threw himself to the side away from both the beast and the unknown foe behind him. However the unknown foe was Madi, and she angrily glared at the hyena. The animal, which dwarfed the woman, appeared to be glaring right back. After a good minute of intense staring Madi held out her hand to Seer and easily pulled him to his feet. She opened her mouth to speak but the hyena growled and drowned her out.

Madi soundlessly argued with the beast never managing to be heard over it. Two minutes later she gave up and began miming for him to get onto the hyena. She aggressively pointed at him and then at the cackling animal. Madi flipped it off before pushing Seer towards the hyena. 

Seer approached timidly mumbling, “Nice hyena. Don’t eat Seer.” The hyena knelt down, and he easily leapt onto its back. Immediately it took off leaving Madi sputtering in a cloud of sand. 

Seer clutched the fur in front of him for dear life. He risked a glance behind him, and saw Madi running after him. The desert had been replaced by a rolling hillside filled with people and monsters. She screamed but the cacophony had returned. A large man with razor sharp teeth latched onto her arm dragging her into the fray. Seer yanked at the fur but the hyena continued to race away from the struggling Madi. He turned back to yell at the animal and maybe jump off. Instead he saw a redheaded woman standing atop a hill; the same sight River had seen before she had been swallowed. Her hands whirled in circles and energy crackled around her. The hyena took them around the hill and River came into his view.

River kicked, punched, and weaved as she fought a small horde of monsters. Blood dripped from cuts all over her body and hid the forming bruises. She blocked one claw but missed another demon’s meaty fist which came down onto her unprotected back. The demons jumped on top of her as she toppled to the ground. 

"No!" Seer screamed as he leaped off the hyena directly onto the demon pile. He kicked, punched, and bit his way through the demons while the hyena added its jaws to the mix. Finally he revealed the unconscious teenage girl. Other monsters began making their way towards them, and Seer hefted River onto the hyena like a bag of potatoes. He jumped up behind her, gripping both her and the fur. “Yaaaah!” The scream couldn’t be heard but he nudged the hyena’s flank with his knees and it took off. 

As the beast retreated, he looked back at the top of the hill. The red headed woman, now holding a small wooden box, locked eyes with him. "I'm so sorry." The whispered words were right next to his ear. She pointed at a demon, and it burst into flames. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and white colored her roots before bleeding down her hair. The woman’s voice began to reign over all other noises. The hundreds of women and men fighting thousands of demons all stopped and stared at the glowing woman. Faces showed expressions of shock and horror. In a choreographed moment all the monsters’ mouths began to open as they looked up to the reddening sky.

He lost sight of the glowing hill as the hyena jumped into darkness. The hyena landed lightly on the cooling sand and sank down on its haunches. It had returned to them a tiny oasis in the midst of rolling dunes and beneath the open night sky free from the harsh sounds that conquered everywhere else he went. Seer slid off the creature taking River with him. "Uh, thanks Miss Hyena. Or would you be a Mister? The leaders should always be women. But should always consider their advisors’ thoughts regardless of gender." He looked at the cackling hyena. “Do you have advisors?” 

The hyena’s rolling laughter broke off in a snarl. A lilting voice filled the air, “Stop being a bitch, Shenzi. I am basically your advisor, so you should listen to me.” Shenzi, the hyena, chuffed as Seer turned to see Madi, clad in her business suit, with her hands on her hips. “Alright,” Madi amended, “fine. He said consider not blindly follow. However since you can’t talk to him, would you _consider_ letting me?”

Shenzi let out a bark before licking Seer’s forearm in one long swipe of her tongue. Seer patted the hyena gently on the head. “Good hyena,” he whispered. She chuffed again before padding over to the curled River and laying beside her. Seer examined Madi whose eyes were scrunched in annoyance at the large animal. Her familiarity overwhelmed him but he could not place her. His eyes roved up and down her fit body as he walked closer to her. “How do I know you, Madi?” he asked stopping a foot from her.

Madi’s face fell as she regarded him. She raised her hand to lightly stroke his face. Seer let out a sigh at the gentle touch he swore he knew better than himself. “You've forgotten so much,” she whispered. “You used to never leave even with all the shit that goes on in here. But now, you never stay. I’ve missed you." They both sighed when she removed her hand. Madi looked pointedly past him at the shivering River. Shenzi wrapped more of herself around the girl calming some of her quakes. "She can't leave,” Madi said sadly. “She was completely pulled out of her body when she tried to read your mind. She needs someone to pull her back out.” Madi brushed Seer’s hand recapturing his gaze. “And here's the really fun part, you need to find another Reader. One with good walls and adequate training."

"She's not safe here?" 

"Actually,” Madi laughed, the beautiful sound soothing Seer’s abused ears. “she is. Shenzi will keep her safe. She likes and protects fierce warriors with a passion.”

“Why doesn’t she like you?” Seer wondered.

Madi shot another look of annoyance at the hyena, “Shenzi doesn’t like to share,” she said before stepping fully into Seer’s personal space. “But you need to focus, a person can only be separated from their mind for so long. Go find a Reader," Madi urged. 

"How am I suppose to do that?" Seer asked.

"Stop talking with the voices in your head and open your eyes." Madi flicked him in the forehead.


	6. Chapter 6

"Do I ask? I should ask. But do I want to know the answer? If they survived what does that mean for me? How long has it been? Will I even be remembered? I know them all in my mind, but it gets harder and harder. Things keep getting fuzzy. I can barely remember all the names. But dead men don't get to see their families. Are they even still alive? I should just ask. What became of them? Does anyone know their name. We started as the Council; we left as the Protectors of Earth."

"The Protectors of Earth? That sounds familiar. Ah, yes, I remember. They go by a different name now. I believe they call themselves the Brown Coats."

"Tell me more."

\- Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

Seer awoke to the entire ship shaking. He rolled off the table he had been laying on as the ship made a turn. In his crouched position he quickly observed that he was in the infirmary. Simon, who had been holding his sister’s hand, jumped up when Seer moved. The smaller man grabbed Seer by the shoulders to yank him to his feet. "My sister?” Simon spat out harshly. “What did you do to her?"

Seer shook his head. "I didn't do anything. I told her, I told her, not to read my mind. But she didn't listen.” He let out a small chuckle. “Little sisters never listen. You always tell them-"

"Seer!" Simon shouted.

He focused on the doctor, a clarity appearing in his eyes. "She's trapped in my mind,” Seer said and nodded. “Safe though. Shenzi will keep her safe, that's what Madi said. And I can always trust Madi.” He faltered in his reassurances. “Why can I always trust Madi?" 

“My sister, please.”

"Reader, we need to find a Reader. That's how we save River."

"Well, that's going to be a little hard to do right now," Shepherd said from the doorway. He had to brace himself in the doorway as the ship rocked hard. "In case you didn't notice we are under attack."

Seer looked up thoughtfully at the ship. "Really? I thought she was just dancing."

"I sent a wave to Southdown Abbey-" Shepherd began before a piercing screech sounded through the ship causing everyone to clutch their ears in pain. "They've managed to attach themselves to the hull," Shepherd shouted. 

Jayne came running in holding a bundle of weapons. "Captain says everyone needs to be armed. So if it ain't one of use coming through here, shoot to kill," he said shoving a gun into Shepherd and then Simon's hands. He looked at Seer for a second before starting to hand him a gun as well but Shepherd pushed it back. 

"He does not need a gun," Shepherd stated firmly.

"I prefer an axe actually." Seer hopped back on the table he had been laying on. "But I don't think we'll need anything. Watch. Wait. Wonder. What else begins with 'w'? Tree. No, that doesn't work."

"Boy ain't right," Jayne muttered before rushing back out of the room.

Shepherd raised his eyebrow at Seer and asked, "What do you mean we won't need anything?"

"I saw a Watcher, he waited far behind. Two girls approached him on either side. They walked to a bar and came inside. The demons knew they were screwed, didn't even try to hide. One, two, three, four, five. Not a single bad guy left alive." Seer's voice developed a sing-song like quality. "You don't mess with the P.O.E."

"What is he talking about?" Simon asked.

"Talking,” Seer let out a short manic laugh. “that's all I ever do now. Talk. The time for talking is past. I saw a Watcher. Watchers travel in packs. And maybe, just maybe, a Watcher will have a Reader with him. That's where we need to go." Seer started to move but Shepherd put a hand on his shoulder.

Simon jumped at the burst of shouts and gunfire. He gripped his gun tightly and stepping back in front of his sister. "We're not safe here," he said pointing his gun at the doorway.

"Malcom Reynolds, for the love of God stop shooting!" A woman's voice rang through the ship. Silence reigned after an additional loud shot. Simon and Shepherd shared a look. The preacher pointed his gun at the door as well. Two sets of footsteps echoed from down the hall.

"Do not fire at my head," Mal ordered and waited a few heartbeats before walking into the infirmary. An older brunette in her mid-forties wearing similar clothes to Mal including a calf-length brown coat trailed behind him. She clutched her arm as blood dripping over her fingers. "Doc, do me a favor, and stitch her up," Mal said gesturing for the woman to sit in the only free seat.

"Why?" Simon still had his gun pointed at her.

"Because," Mal responded taking the weapon away from Simon, "Jayne doesn't listen when I tell him to stop shooting. So if you would so kind as to stop her from bleeding all over my floor?" Simon glared at Mal but quickly went to work on the woman's arm. 

"Thanks kiddo," The woman said to Simon before turning to Mal, "Sorry about all this Mal. This was suppose to be a civilized meeting but my daughter, who I'm going to leave on the most backwater planet I can find for a month, didn't want to wait and thought you were evading us." She sighed heavily as Simon began prodding at the wound. “She has a problem of attacking first and talking second.” 

"And what was our civilized meeting suppose to be about, Anne?" Mal asked in a cool tone as he leaned against one of the cupboards. "Last civilized conversation we had was over a war map. For Serenity."

Anne ignored that comment instead turning to look at Seer. "We came for him."

"You can't have him. He's messed up one of my crew and until he knows how to right her, he won't be going anywhere," Mal said.

"And how did he do that?" Anne wondered.

Seer turned to stare at her. He tilt his head to one side in confusion. Then he shook his head and pointed at River. "I need a Reader. I've got someone stuck in my head."

"I've got a Reader," Anne said. She maneuvered around Simon bringing a communicator to her lips. "Wolf. Get your ass over here. I need you to Read someone."

"Am I going to get shot?" A young male voice came over the communicator. "Because the ship where there's no shooting on feels so much safer."

"Move it!" she barked into the communicator. Dropping the device into her lap, she let out another exasperated sigh. "If you would be so kind as to tell your crew to not shoot my son, I would be much obliged. And then I won't have to kill the big one for not knowing how to aim a gun."

Mal moved to press the button for the intercom, "Jayne, don't shoot the person coming on board,” he ordered before releasing the button. He paused and then spoke through the intercom again, “Zoe, shoot Jayne if he does something stupid."

“Yes, sir.” Zoe’s voice and Jayne’s shouted dismay crackled into the room.

Seer had moved off the table and stood in front of Anne. He stared into her pale blue eyes. "You know something,” he said slowly. “You know something I don't. Something I forgot. Are you going to tell me? Or are you going to leave me waiting, wondering? Are you the Watcher?"

“I told you he can't remember,” A new voice spoke capturing everyone’s attention. The speaker was another brunette although this one had curls and was twenty years younger than Anne. She leaned against the doorway with crossed arms. 

Seer glanced once at the newcomer and rapidly did a double take. “You,” he breathed. “You should be dead.” He blinked and rubbed at his eyes. “But you aren't the right age. You're so old.”

“J.L. What are you doing off the ship?” Anne demanded angrily. The younger woman ignored her moving straight for Seer.

Seer met her with a harsh glare. “You make my head hurt.” He clutched his head with one hand as he racked his mind. “We ran from the monsters. Did I save you?" A scream ripped out of his throat making everyone but the girl in front of him jump. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. "Do you know me? Is that why we ran together?" He released her suddenly and hissed, "No, you aren't her. You can never be her. You’re a lie. ALL OF YOU, LIE! STOP MESSING WITH MY HEAD!"

J.L., as soon as she was released, steadied Seer’s shaking head between her hands. “Listen here, crazy man, you're damned right you saved me. Those reavers were going to kill me, and there were too many for me when I can only shoot with one gun. If-"

"You really need to practice more with both," Anne interrupted.

"Mom! Trying to have a moment here," J.L. huffed before continuing, "If you hadn't grabbed my extra gun. I would be dead. I'm sorry I'm not her. But-"

“Go away.” He broke her hold and staggered back to the bed. “All the Watchers are dead. All my Watchers are dead.” 

“But I know what happened to her. I know what happened to you. It's okay. You don't have to be lost anymore; we can fix you. You just have to wait a little longer,” J.L. said with a smile.

“Holy fucking shit! You want me to read _him_? Screw that, look at the size of those teeth! He's gonna eat me.”


	7. Chapter 7

“I can't stay here. It hurts being here. I find you less and less. I get so lost. How do I control something that isn't mine anymore? There's something wrong, so wrong. It wasn't suppose to be like this. Please don't be angry at me, I don't want to stay. Show me the door. Please, baby, please.”

“Seer, who are you talking to?”

“I don't want to sleep anymore.”

-Archives from Southdown Base

* * *

A tall boy of about sixteen with sandy brown hair loomed in the doorway with his arms crossed. His stance matched J.L.’s when she first turned up. "Seriously Ma,” he begged, “it's taking all of my manly willpower not to start screaming like a little girl."

“Wolf, do not overreact. You've been in training with the monks since you were three,” Anne admonished him before addressing Seer. "What do you need him to do?"

Seer tore his gaze away from J.L. to her younger brother. He took a step towards him, and Wolf countered with a step back. "Are you a Reader?" Seer asked.

"If I answer, will you promise not to eat me?" Wolf's eyes darted back and forth trying to settle anywhere but Seer’s face.

"He's not going to eat you, Wolf," J.L. said sternly before grabbing Seer's arm. "You sit over here." She bodily pushed him back to the bed and made him sit. She waggled a finger in his face as she warned him. "And don't eat my brother."

Seer harrumphed and stared at the fidgeting teen. "You have good walls."

"Uh, thanks, I try?" Wolf answered slowly.

"What do you need him to do?" Anne asked again.

"Jump a stone to get across River," Seer paused and slammed his fist into the bed. "Wait. No, that's not right. I have to explain this right or he’ll get eaten too."

"Ma!" Wolf shouted.

“Wolf, he's not going to eat you,” Anne admonished.

“I beg to differ.” He inched further out of the room until his sister blocked his escape.

Shepherd put an encouraging hand on Seer’s shoulder while the seated man hunched over more clutching his head. "Okay, listen closely,” Seer mumbled. “You have to jump stones. First, you have to go through River’s mind, tie yourself to hers before jumping into mine. I will try to find you. I will bring you to River and you need to bring her out of my mind back into her own."

"What do you mean _try_ to find me?" Wolf asked.

"Ever been in an explosion?" Seer wondered.

"No."

"I don't recommend it. That is also not of the fun." Seer frowned and lowered his hands. "I wish I knew more fun things. I-" He was cut off as River started to groan.

Simon had finished dressing Anne’s wound and rushed to his sister’s side. "What's happening to her?" He demanded checking her vitals.

"Seventy-three,” Seer gasped clutching Shepherd’s arm. “She said seventy-three.” He locked eyes with Wolf. “Hurry, you have to come now. Seventy-three, you only have until seventy-three." Seer’s eyes rolled up and he flopped backward onto the bed. 

“Please if you can help my sister, do something,” Simon begged.

"Shit!" Wolf cursed before sitting on the floor. "If I get eaten, someone owes me something shiny." 

Seer fell back into the blackness of his mind. This time the action went smoothly as if it was something he had done a million times before. The second time in a day in however many years, decades, centuries, he had willingly gone into the recesses of his mind. Yet chaos and darkness still filled his head and that fact seemed so wrong to him. Instead of wandering, he waited, although he couldn’t say why he did this. Two seconds passed then a smooth feminine hand slipped into his. He allowed himself to be pulled through the black and actually had to struggle to not be dragged. The hand in his felt familiar and right. Pale light slowly started to filter through the black revealing Madi in her mahogany suit. She turned back to wave at him before putting on another burst of speed.

Animalistic growls and angry bird screeches crashed over the rest of the neverending noises. The darkness finally broke beneath the glow of a full moon illuminating a clearing in a forest. They jumped over a crunching four legged beast at the edge of the opening. A grand tree towering over the rest stood in the center. Wolf nearly let go of the lowest branch he clung to when he spotted Seer. The teenager opened his mouth but with all the other sounds nothing he said or screamed could be heard. 

Seer scooped up two thick branches off the ground and tossed one to Madi. She caught it easily, swinging it into the jaw of a nearby beast. He attacked the animal closest to him causing it to run yipping into the forest. Wolf dropped from the branch into a crouch. Another harsh swing at a beast and Seer was able to grab the boy by the collar. Together the three of them escaped the forest with the furred animals snapping at their heels. They had to cross a freezing river before reaching a wooden building with tape reading ‘DO NOT ENTER’ strewn across the entrance. Madi, in a smooth motion, leapt over the tape while the boys bowed low to go underneath it. She headed straight for a railing blocking off a red rock-cave and vaulted into it without a second thought. When Seer and Wolf reached the railing the younger boy baulked at going over. The floor looked to be a black abyss and Wolf shook his head while trying to back away. Seer latched onto his arm, scrambled over the railing, and let gravity pull him and Wolf over the edge. 

They landed on hard, cold sand beneath a starlit sky. Wolf's voice boomed in the sudden silence, "-Fucking crazy!"

Seer ran to where River was clutching her temples in pain beside Shenzi and Madi. "River?" he whispered kneeling beside her.

"It hurts," she moaned.

He picked her up and placed her in Wolf's arms. "Take her out."

Wolf looked down at the girl he cradled. "But we haven't even been introduced." Shenzi placed one of her massive paws on top of his leg and flexed her claws. He gulped hard. "By that, I mean, I will be respectful-like and keep my hands in all the proper places,” he promised before turning his head slightly in Seer’s direction. “For the love God, don't let the big doggie thing eat me."

Seer pushed Shenzi away from Wolf and ordered, "Go!"

"I would be happy to.” Wolf gingerly sat down making sure River didn’t touch the ground. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

“What are you doing?”

Wolf’s face pinched as he answered. “Trying to find the door. Unless you know where it’s at?” 

“I don’t...” He stopped and peered at the guilty looking Madi. "Do you know where the door is?"

Wolf laughed without any humor. "I figured as much. Damn, it fucked you up good." His tone was not insulting merely matter of fact.

Seer grabbed Wolf's chin and growled, "You know."

"I read minds. Of course I know," Wolf spoke with all the wisdom of a jaded teenager but his face softened with hope. “But they'll come, and everything will be better. You'll see.”

Seer was about to respond but River managed to choke out a word, "Seventy-two."

“Shit! Shit!” Wolf squealed and resumed his meditative pose.

"Door. Door. Door. Door." Seer chanted over and over again, looking around wildly. "She sealed me in. How am I suppose to find a door? I need a door. They can't get out if there's no door." He grabbed Madi by the shoulders. "Where's the door? Tell me where the door is?"

"I can't," Madi said as tears filled her eyes.

"You told me to get a Reader. I got a Reader and now you're telling me he can't get out? Why the hell are you in my head if you can't help me?" Seer screamed in her face.

Madi’s face filled with rage and she screamed back. "I've been trying to help you for five hundred years but you stopped listening." At Seer’s look of surprise, she cupped his cheek and whispered, "It's been here too long."

A low growl vibrated through the air. Madi and Seer turned to look at Shenzi as she stalked towards a terrified Wolf. He did not let go of River as he hurriedly scooted backwards with one hand. "Call her off!” he shouted. “I don't want to get eaten. Call her off!" The two teenagers disappeared when Shenzi pounced towards them. The hyena landed lightly on her paws and laid down in one smooth fluid motion.

Madi's jaw dropped as she stared at the cackling Shenzi. "How the hell did you do that?" she demanded. Shenzi yipped twice before snapping her teeth at Madi. "Self preservation? Really,” Madi said. “Did you even know if that was going to work?" Shenzi gave another response that made the woman stop her foot and turn to Seer. "Just for the record. I don't like her. She is the only part of you that I never liked. Well that and your habit of helping woman that would try to kill you after." She flicked him in the forehead. "Seventy-three remember?"

Seer was running before his eyes were even open. He took the room in a brief glance as he exited. Simon and Wolf leaned over a screaming River while Anne tried to check on her son without being noticed. Mal rummaged through a drawer at the request of Simon. He burst between Shepherd and J.L. breaking up their heated argument. His feet took him past Kaylee, who jumped in surprise, and to the cockpit where he immediately crashed into Wash. 

Seer laid on the floor for a moment staring through the glass. Then he pointed at two ships in the distance and asked, “Who invited them to the party?”


	8. Chapter 8

"What, no more questions to ask the man that appeared out of nowhere? Without even a puff of smoke or a clash of drums. No, the drums would have been destroyed in the blast. No more physicals, blood tests, and body scans? Did I pass? I don't do well on tests. Satisfied I'm human? Of course if I wasn't human these handcuffs would be worth shit right now. I'm so glad that I landed in such a kind gathering of souls, who have handcuffs and guns in their basement. But now gentle captors, I have a question for you. Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Shepherd Reed James. I'm the commander of Southdown base."

"I am not a sheep. Try to shear me and die."

\- Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

Seer rolled and pushed himself off the ground. "I know those ships. Someone is looking for sheep," he snarled pointing at ships angrily. "Not invited. I said I'd go, I don't need to be dragged." He spun around to face Wash, and Mal and Shepherd who had joined him. 

"Who might they be, Wash?" Mal asked.

"That's what I was coming to tell you, Captain,” Wash said with a raised eyebrow. “They're shepherds from Southdown Abbey. They wanted to know if we needed help. They said that Book sent out a wave to them?" 

Mal looked at Shepherd who shrugged and nonchalantly said, "I thought we might need a little help."

"I didn't know shepherds had those types of ships," Wash commented staring at the vast ships two classes bigger than the firefly.

"No one was born a shepherd, Wash," Shepherd said with a smile.

"I sense a big talk coming. And I would prefer to have it on the ground, where my ship won't get damaged no more," Mal said. "Tell them they can escort us back to Savage Garden if they feel like." 

Seer glared at the Captain for thirty seconds before giving Shepherd the same treatment. Wash, however, received a friendly a wave on Seer’s way past the three men. He heard Wash half-joke, "I think I might be the only one who doesn't need to worry about getting killed in their sleep tonight." 

Steady, soft shoed footsteps followed Seer and he quickened his pace, nearly at a run by the time he reached Shepherd’s room. He locked the door as soon as he entered the room, and ignored Shepherd's request to be let in. The preacher continued knocking gently on the door but the knocking turned into pounding when J.L. arrived.

Seer crouched into a corner muttering to himself. “Something’s coming. Something I used to hope for. What was it? When was the last time I hoped? At dawn?” He punched the wall. “Focus. Remember! Can’t remember, all the lines turned blurry and nothing’s straight anymore. When did I become a three year old’s drawing? Three was such a great year.” He slammed his head into the wall causing the people outside to shout his name. “The wolf cub said they were coming. Who were they? Can they fix me? Can they fix a broken clock. So much time lost.” He slumped laying on the ground and his words slurred together. “How does one run away without their head? Abbey’s no help. All they want you to do is mediated and that uses your head. A stupid abbey-base filled with stupid non-girl Terries. No, not Terries. Who listened too much?”

The pounding and knocking cut off abruptly and Mal’s voice cut through Seer’s rambling. "Seer we've landed. You have ten seconds, and then Jayne is going to rip off this door." 

Seer unlocked the door and shoved it open seeing only Mal, Shepherd, and Jayne. He was angry but he was not sure at who yet. "So has my fate been decided yet?"

"No one's fate is being decided. We are all going to talk like civilized people at the abbey where they have home grown food." Mal said before turning and walking away.

"Oh so you'll wait till you're all fed, then you'll decide." Seer grumbled as Shepherd guided him out of the room.

"No, then you'll listen to what they have to say and you will decide your own fate," Mal said without turning around.

"Oh," Seer said. Mal led them out of the ship and onto the planet Savage Garden. Shepherd stopped himself and Seer next to Kaylee who was animatedly talking with about ten variously aged and raced shepherds and priests. Mal and Jayne continued walking until they reached Zoe and Wash who kissed his wife before heading back to the ship. The rest of Serenity’s crew as well as Wolf were nowhere to be seen. A few feet from Mal, J.L. and Anne were having a heated discussion. A few of the shepherds attempted to greet Seer but he ignored them and instead began trudging towards the building in the distance. 

He wasn't too surprised when he felt J.L. bump into him once she caught up. She winked at him before saying, "There's just something about a mad man leading people. Way of the world if you ask me." Seer looked behind to see that everyone but Kaylee was following him and made a sound of agreement.

The way to the abbey would have been a short walk but twice Seer led them down the wrong path. The shepherds and priests corrected the course each time trying to lead the group instead, however Seer never let them. 

Southdown Abbey was a towering structure surrounded by gardens, tree, and many men in religious garb working the grounds. Finally a shepherd older than Serenity’s shepherd managed to take the lead from Seer and directed their course into a comfortable yet modest room on the second floor. A long low table took up most of the room with soft, worn cushions dotted around the edges beneath the table. Seer moved to sit in the far corner observing the people still milling in the room’s entrance. 

Shepherds and priests floated in and out of the room speaking to Serenity’s shepherd. Slowly some priests began to bring in fresh food which had most of the Serenity crew seated in a hurry. Both Shepherd and J.L. tried to get Seer to eat but he refused staring daggers at the open doorway. Eventually everyone’s eating slowed and three older men wearing long grey robes entered the room. Seer’s eyes locked on the one in the center. This Asian man looked thirty years older than Shepherd and was the first unsmiling man that they had come upon in the Abbey. Yet as everyone else turned to look in the men’s direction the man quickly donned a smile. “Hello and welcome to Southdown Abbey. My name is ArchBishop Thomas, and this is Bishop Jonathon and Bishop Li.”

Shepherd quickly rose and greeted the archbishop, “I hadn’t heard you’d made it to archbishop. Congratulations. I’m assuming that you were granted your own abbey to care for.” He paused smiling at the other two bishops. “Are you here visiting? Where is ArchBishop Quaye?” 

Thomas smiled and to Seer it looked like a snake’s smile. “Southdown is my abbey to shephard now. Quaye has moved to another abbey where his skills can be better put to use.” He moved past Shepherd and headed towards Seer, “Seer, I’m glad you have decided to come home.”

"I didn’t decide. Fate decided." Seer paused and looked at the ceiling. "Or did I decide? You know fate is a funny thing. Can you actually decide your own fate? Or is fate just a concept that depends on each choice you make. The more choices you make the more you control your own fate. Otherwise it's decided for you isn't it?"

“Perhaps. The saying goes we make our own fate.” Thomas put a hand on Seer’s shoulder gripping it tightly. “Now that you are home-”

“Home?!” Seer smacked the archbishop’s hand off his shoulder. “This isn’t my home. Not this base. My base was filled with laughter and stakes. This base has filled with prayers and treachery.” He rose kicking his cushion to the side. “I came. I saw. There’s nothing to conquer here. That’s already happened. I’m going back to the ship.” 

"Seer,” Thomas said blocking his path to the door. “How well do you trust these new friends? Not to be harsh, but you require constant care and that’s a lot of responsibility to put on someone you just met.” Thomas tried to sound concerned but to Seer’s ears it was downright condescending. 

"Quaye was more cuddly," Seer said offhandedly causing a few of the shepherds in the room to snort. The sounds were quickly covered up by coughing and hacking. He ignored them. "I'm tired of screaming in the corner. I think I want to remember now."

The lights began to repeatedly flash, three seconds off, three seconds on. Thomas smiled widely. "I think it's about time you did."

Shepherd, Li, and half of the other shepherds stoop up in a rushed manner. “Quickly, we must get him downstairs,” Li said gesturing towards the door.

“No,” Thomas’ voice snapped like a whip. “We have guests coming that would love to meet Seer.”

Mal, Zoe, and J.L. quickly got to their feet while Anne and Jayne moved to a crouch. “What have you done, Thomas?” Shepherd demanded taking a step to place himself in front of Seer who had taken a step back putting his fists up.

“What should have been done four hundred years ago.” A deep voice came from the doorway. Everyone turned back to see a short, middle-aged man whose muscles strained the material of his Alliance commander’s uniform. Several men decked in differently ranked uniforms stood behind him, guns pointed towards the people in the room. He took slow, methodical steps till he reached the head of the table. “Thomas, you were suppose to have turned everyone back to the Alliance and yet I see the alarm was sounded at our arrival.”

“This is an Alliance base,” Mal said rather than asked before looking at Shepherd. “You’re Alliance.” The shepherd looked down.

Thomas ignored Mal’s outburst. “I have converted seventy-five percent back to the Alliance. It’s a large compound, young man. These things take time, be happy that he came back when he did.”

The commander barked an order, “Stand aside, Shepherd and let me see him.” When Book didn’t move, one of the soldiers stepped further into the room to roughly pull the shepherd aside. Seer’s fists were still raised as the commander looked him up and down. “Alexander Lavelle Harris, we’ve been searching for you for a long time."


	9. Chapter 9

“Twenty. Thirty. Ninety. Two hundred twelve. Have I changed in the years? Is my face the same? Is it even my face? Most people would be dead by now or have cloven hooves. But my face doesn't change. Every day I see a face and it looks the same. But I don't know the face and it stares at me. I think it's trying to tell me something. Do you know what it's trying to tell me?”

“No, Seer, I do not. What is it trying to tell you?”

“I know something you don't know.”

\- Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

The lights stopped flashing and a moment later another soldier appeared in the doorway. He addressed the man in the commander’s uniform, “Commander Choi, we’ve shut down the alarm system and everyone in the abbey is being brought to the chapel.”

Choi nodded once and dismissed the man. He turned back to face the room where Thomas had moved closer to his side along with Jonathon and his allied shepherds. “Take everyone but Mr. Harris to the chapel as well. We need to have a conversation.”

“No. I don’t converse with evil.” Seer paused to think his hands dropping an inch. “Unless I’m insulting them.” He looked Choi up and down. “Your hat makes you look fat.”

Choi waved a hand. “Take them.”

Anne and Jayne quickly rose to their feet while J.L. started to reach for her gun. Li shouted as the Alliance men raised their guns in her direction, “Stop! There is no need for bloodshed. We will come with you without fighting.”

“Bishop Li, wise as always,” Thomas said. “If you would follow Bishop Jonathon to the chapel.”

“Disarm them first,” Choi ordered.

Jayne groaned as Mal had to order him twice to hand over his weapon, “This is the second gun I’ve lost this month. I’ve a strong liking for my guns, Mal, and now two have been taken.” 

Mal, Zoe, and Anne submitted to their respectives body searches quietly. Once the man that had been checking Anne finished, he tripped. She helped him up while brushing him off. “Oh dear, you must watch your feet. Tripping like that could get you killed.” He pushed her away while the other Alliance men suppressed chuckles.

J.L., on the other hand, had to be searched three times before Choi deemed her free of all weapons. Then she was dragged from the room by her mother when she refused to abandon Seer. Li had to pull Shepherd away for the same reason.

Only when the Serenity crew, Watcher crew, and the laymen were removed from the room, did the men turn to face Seer. He side stepped away from the oncoming advance until his legs smacked into the table. He reached down grabbing a metal plate. “No means no!” He screamed before chucking the plate into one of the men’s face. 

“Whatever you do, do not shoot him!” Choi shouted when one of the five men enclosing Seer reached for his gun.

Seer laughed before chucking another plate, catching a man in the shoulder. “Shoot me? You can’t even catch me. Run run as fast as you can, you’ll never kill the gingerbread man.”

The men kept moving closer, all the while attempting to duck plates, cups, and one rather large fruit bowl still full of strawberries. Seer ran out of things to throw at the same time each man was less than a foot from him. He threw a wild punch at the man on his left but the weeks of malnutrition and no sleep made his hit about as effective as a five-year-olds. Seer’s arms were grabbed and only one man was needed to hold him still.

“That’s enough of that,” Thomas said.

Choi was tapping his chin, “All the stories I’ve heard about the Protectors of Earth and after five hundred years, I thought the legendary Alexander Harris would’ve put up a more impressive fight.”

“I told you how he was when I found out about him,” Thomas murmured.

“I know and I prepared for that. Did you finish his room?”

“Of course.”

Thomas led them through the abbey, the Alliance men’s boots echoing on the stone floor. He led them past rooms and more Alliance pushing laymen towards the center of the abbey. They entered a library still filled with books rather than just computer terminals. Once they reached the stack furthest from the entrance, Thomas removed a few books revealing simple stonework. He dislodged one stone and in its place a hand scanner pulsed with green light. With one scan of Thomas’ hand, the bookcase slid to the left and a well lit staircase descended below the first floor of the abbey. 

“I always knew you were evil Brother Tomas,” Seer said slowly deliberately mispronouncing Thomas’ name. The group made their way down passing doors on either side. “I felt you searching for me. I felt your eyes on me from the moment you glimpsed me.” Hallway after hallway forked leaving the path unknown to the Alliance men. His voice turned gravely, “Don’t you be going topside, Seer. Not all men are good, even men of God.” His voice returned to normal. “But I can tell you who’s evil. You just have listen. Why don’t you ever listen?”

“I don’t know what you expect to get from him, Commander,” Thomas said when Seer fell silent. “I understand we need to get rid of the last of the P.O.E. but he can’t possibly tell you anything.”

Choi gave a minor shrug. “We have ways. Once you reach his room, I’ll need you to bring the four men waiting at the entrance down.”

“Of course. We’re almost there.” He took a right turn and Seer began to struggle.

“Not this way! I don’t want to go this way,” Seer shouted. 

Thomas opened a door and ushered them inside. The small, stone walled room contained only two things: a screen on the wall with wires hanging off of it and a heavy wooden chair with thick leather straps.

“This isn’t my room! This isn’t my room!” Seer screamed kicking back and breaking loose from his guard. He rushed forward to grab Choi’s uniform, specifically a pocket that held a pen. “I don’t belong in here.” 

Choi slapped him across the face before pushing him back into the man that was already trying to restrain Seer. “Strap him in.” Choi stepped back allowing his command to be carried out. “Archbishop Thomas, if you could get my men.”

Thomas bowed his head toward Choi before leaving the room. Seer muttered to himself, “This isn’t my room.” Three of the men went to stand outside once Seer had been secured.

Choi began to circle the chair a foot’s length away. After a few seconds he spoke, “Do you know why the Alliance wants you, Harris?”

“No Harris here. Only Zool.” Seer lolled his head to the side.

Choi grabbed Seer’s chin and asked him quietly. “Do you know where it is?”

Seer’s eyes focused on the face in front of him. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not who I think I am. I can't think therefore I am not." Seer tried to get out of Choi's grip. "Where it is? Where it is? It? It cannot exist. Or does it exist? Time and space what is it?"

Choi let go off him and let out a sigh of frustration. “I really had hoped you’d been putting on an act. I would have been a legend if I broke Alexander Harris.” He gestured at the two men in the room. “Follow me,” he said before exiting.

Seer glared at the screen. “Yeah I’m crazy. Crazy like a fox,” he said in low breath. “Wait, how crazy is a fox. No. I need to focus. The Watchers are in trouble. I have to save them. I have to save her.”

Some minutes later the door swung back open and Choi walked back in with four nearly identically men behind him. They were middle-aged blondes wearing white long sleeved shirts and light blue trousers. Seer eventually saw differences, eye color, nose size, ear size, and one man had a piece of metal attached to his neck. That man went straight to the screen and began plugging the wires into ports on his metallic neck.

"Know your enemy, I know mine. Readers and something else. A Projector." Seer settled back in his chair as the other three men surrounded him in a triangle. He let out a bark of laughter. "Huff and puff. You can't blow me down. And if you come inside, I will eat you whole." His laugh turned into a yelp as something struck against the walls of his mind. His yelp turned into shouts as his barriers were struck over and over again. Then, abruptly, the attack stopped. 

One of the Readers turned to Choi, "His mind is a trap. If we go in we might not be able to get out. I think we may be able to pull out memories, but we would have no control over what we pull out."

"Do it. We’re in no hurry." Choi leaned against the wall. The Reader turned back to Seer closing his eyes the other two Readers mimicking him. At first there was nothing and then Seer screamed as he felt something in his mind rip. 

The room and its pain were gone. Instead Seer leaned on a gravestone in an old wooded graveyard listening to two teenage girls giggling about boys. The girls waved and shouted at three girls emerging from behind a mausoleum a few yards away. He immediately scolded them but felt as if he had no control over the action. With a push off the stone, he straightened and he was able to see Madi walking behind them. Only it wasn’t his Madi; she looked different, younger. She wore jean shorts and a pale blue tank top that matched her eyes. Her curly brown hair was up in a ponytail but the ends brushed the top of her butt. He was getting conflicting feeling of he most know her but he couldn’t fathom how he did.

"Elise. Jamie,” Seer called reaching behind his back to pull his axe from its straps. “Something's wrong. Swords now." Without hesitation, all the girls pulled out weapons including Madi who had a crossbow. The two groups reached each other, each person scanning the area for danger. Then Elise let out a scream and leapt at one of the other girls. Their swords clashed together shooting sparks into the air and before Seer could speak the other girls joined in. They all fought each other as if their life depended on it. “What are you doing?! Stop!" Seer shouted. 

"Liz! Theresa! Kelly!” Madi yelled lowering her crossbow. “Cut it out! Now's not the time for an alpha contest." Liz screamed as Elise managed to cut her leg.

Seer pulled out his phone scrambling to dial a number. "Sam, I got a problem. I need you to check for magic in grid-" Seer cut off as Madi hit him with a right hook. "What the hell?"

"Xander, what's going on? What grid did you want me to check?" Sam's concerned voice came through the phone. 

Seer dropped his axe as he tried to defend himself against Madi without seriously hurting her. "Grid six-seven-eight-one." 

There was a pause from Sam's side. Then he whistled, "Damn, that’s a crap load of magic. What do you want me to do?"

Seer kicked Madi in the stomach causing her to fall to the ground. "Cancel it ou-" Seer coughed. His chest burned. Seer looked down at his chest and the wooden arrow sticking out of it. His gaze tracked back up to an expressionless Madi holding an empty crossbow. “Ow.” Seer gasped before falling heavily to the ground with his phone still clutched in his hand.

“Xander? Xander?! Rachel! Amy! Shut it down.”

The burn in his chest grew making it harder to breathe; each breath was shallower than the last. He had landed on his back and he noticed that a tree branch was blocking his view of the sky. The sky had been dark blue with twinkling stars but slowly the stars winked as a blackness began to eat the sky. Then even the tree branch was gone. He couldn’t breathe in. He could only exhale. Then he couldn’t do anything. 

Seer gasped harshly as the small room reappeared along with a searing pain in his head. Choi stared at the black screen a few more moments before consulting a tablet he held. “If our records are correct that was your wife, Madison Angela Harris.” He scrolled through the tablet. “There’s nothing in here about her attempting to kill you. What else isn’t in our records?”


	10. Chapter 10

“Nuts, I like nuts. They drive me crazy. Crazy, I’ve been crazy twice. Speaking in limericks and rhymes. It drove me nuts. Nuts, I like- You’re watching me again. I can feel your damn eyes on me. Take them out. No more eyes. No more watchers. They’re all gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Go away!”

“Turn off the cameras.”

“Too many eyes.”

\- Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

Seer looked down at the little baby girl sleeping in his arms. She sucked her thumb as he rocked her back and forth. He managed to tear his gaze from from her to Madi sleeping in the hospital bed beside him. Pressing a gentle kiss to the baby’s forehead, he began to whisper, "Jessie Lavelle Harris. Sorry about the middle name, baby girl. Your mom over there, cheats at rock paper scissors. But don't you worry, your dad has made that name cool again. And if anyone picks on you, all your aunts and uncles will take care of them. We’ll keep you safe." 

Seer felt utterly content as he rocked the most precious person in his world. Then his mind seemed to break in half making him scream as the face of his daughter was replaced with a computer screen.

Seer now sat in an office where a large desk was covered in mounds of papers nearly hiding his computer. Instead of working, he was playing a random flash game. Every once and a while he would close one eye and then the other. He smiled at the fact he could still see when he did this. His door opened and a redhead, the one from the hill, walked in with a resolve face. Seer sighed and shut off his game. "Willow?"

"Xander," she said sitting in chair opposite him. They both stared at each other for a moment before she spoke, "I figured it out."

"Me too." Seer nodded. "I'm Batman."

Willow laughed. "Xander, you-" She was interrupted by a knock on the door. A young woman walked in and placed a bag on Seer's desk before walking back out. "What's that?"

Seer reached in the bag and pulled out a Wolverine action figure still in its original packaging. "Wow."

Willow's eyes widened a bit as well. "Who sent you that?"

Seer smiled. "Madi."

"Isn't she the Watcher that killed you?" Willow asked.

"Yep. I told her it was okay. I mean, you can't really do anything when a warlock takes over your mind and tries to kill everyone at your company. Besides,” he continued in a bad British accent, “she got better.”

"And you got undeaded. Undeadified? Definitely not with the being dead. But with two eyes." Willow arched an eyebrow. "So do you want to hear the magic results?" 

Seer shrugged. “Well we already determined I’m not a demon. Not a zombie. Not a vampire. Not a ghoul. Especially not evil. By the way, those tests were so not of the fun. And my soul is still only Xander. So sure why not.”

"You're immortal."

"As in there can be only one?" Seer asked slowly.

"I don't even think beheading will kill you. Your life energy is a constant in the universe. You’ve had things happen to you that have tied you closer to life and Earth in general. The hyena possession ties you to the animals on land. The fish blood ties you to those in the sea. The umm, Native American curse you got at Thanksgiving ties you to the spirit of people. And the last thing was being named by Caleb as the one who sees. To see the universe and understand what happens. It’s a rare thing," Willow said.

"And my new eye?" Seer wondered aloud fiddling with the action figure. 

“A gift, maybe? At least that’s my current theory,” Willow said before both fell silent for a few minutes."So Madi?" Willow asked smiling.

Seer stood up and placed the action figure on a shelf where a Rogue action figure was already proudly displayed. "The woman has taste. And on the plus side she's already tried to kill me. I think I should ask her out." 

Seer felt the memory beginning to end by the pain he felt on the edges of his mind. He tried to stay in the moment but it was as if there was a lasso around his mental self. It kept jerking him around, and he had no power to stop it. 

Seer walked into a playroom filled with toys. Jessie, who looked to be about two years old, crouched on the floor with blocks in front of her. A young woman with brown hair sat off to the side in a rocking chair. She looked rather pale and he could see small drops of sweat on her forehead. Seer kissed Jessie on the top of her head before approaching the rocking chair. “Dawnie, you don’t look too good. We could have gotten one of the Watcher-in-Training to babysit her this apocalypse.”

Dawn waved him off. “I’m fine. Is everyone okay? Where’s Madi?”

“We only had a few injuries and no casualties on our side. Madi’s in the shower. She got hit by an exploding demon. So she decided to rinse off first,” Seer said. Dawn tried to stand but nearly fell over. “Hey, you are not okay,” he said easily catching her and placing her back in the chair. “I’m going to call Willow and have her check you out.” 

“Well in that case... I think I’m going to be with the passing out now.” Dawn’s eyes had already fluttered closed.

Seer pulled out a phone in a hurried panic. “Willow get over here, now? Dawnie’s sick.” He looked down when he felt Jessie pulling on his pant leg.

“Dawnie okay?”

Seer picked her up and balanced her on his hip. “Don’t you worry. Aunt Willow’s going to make Dawn all better.”

Seer screamed in pain and frustration. Each new scene felt familiar and alien at the same time. He began to wonder if Xander Harris was actually his name. If he was to believe that these were memories, his memories, then it must be, but the memories felt wrong and tainted. Seer saw Jessie and Maddie, Willow and Dawn, a boy named Jesse, a girl named Buffy, a man named Giles, and others again and again as his mind was shredded. The Readers barely let him finish one memory before jumping to the next. His head pounded through every inch of his skull. He didn’t think he could take much more of this.

Seer was frantically packing clothes into a duffel bag when Madi came into the room and stilled his hands. “Xand, everything will be fine,” she assured him. “We don’t need to leave. Willow says the plan will work. You’re just being overly cautious. I mean you already made most of the planet evacuate.”

Seer cupped her face. “Please go,” he begged. “Trust me on this. I will meet you on Persephone, okay. And we can take a long vacation. Just you, me, and Jessie. Get a break from all the demons and slaying. And then if I’m wrong, we can come back home.”

A nine-year-old Jessie came into the room with two mangas in one hand and a stuff ninja turtle doll in the other. “Hey, Dad?”

“Leave the books baby, just take Mikey.” Seer walked over to Jessie and picked her up. He kissed her on the forehead. “I want you to be good for your Mom, okay.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Jessie frowned.

“No, baby. I gotta go talk to Aunt Willow. But I’ll meet you in outer space, cowgirl,” he said gesturing to the ceiling before spinning her around in two lazy circles. She giggled as he set her back on her feet and he ruffled her hair. “Go get your backpack.” Seer turned back to Madi and took her hands. “The last ship leaves in three hours. Please,” he begged while squeezing her hands tightly. “go. Nothing else matters as long as you and Jessie are safe.”

“It’s just another apocalypse. You defeated the First. You can defeat the Alliance’s horde,” Madi replied returning the crushing grip. She paused looking for something on Seer’s face and seemed to find it after a moment. “Okay. I’ll send you a message when we get there. And you better make it there or else.” She gave him a quick peck. “You don’t want to miss the surprise I have for you.” Seer pulled her back for a longer kiss. As she leaned back her image shifted and he saw the Madi of his mind. “Go to sleep, baby.” And she kissed him again.

Seer sighed in relief as he fell backwards into blackness before landing on cool sand. Shenzi prowled over and stretched out beside him. He closed his eyes letting the empty silent blackness envelop him.


	11. Chapter 11

“It shines so bright. It’s burning my eyes. I can feel them on fire. Do I get a new pair if I lose them again? How can any of you keep your eyes open? It’s so bright. There’s nowhere else to look. It’s everywhere. Take it away. You have to take it away! It’s going to kill me!”

“Seer, all the lights are off. There’s nothing bright in here.”

“Maybe you’re not crazy enough to see it.”

-Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

Seer woke slowly and began to tense as he gauged his surroundings. He could still feel the sand beneath his arms and a furry presence to his right. Someone was stroking his eyebrow. “Madi?” Seer asked fully opening his eyes.

She gave him a regretful smile before saying, “Hey.”

He gripped her hand tightly. “Can I stay here?”

A tear slid down her face as she shook her head. “No. The desert is only meant for you to visit. The same goes for the ocean and the plains.”

“But I don’t want to leave. It hurts out there.”

“I know. I know. You just have to bear it a little while and then I’ll take you to the ocean.”

Seer sat up, sand falling out of his hair. His voice was shaky and full of fear, “Will you come with me?”

She stood pulling him to his feet as well. She pressed his hands to her lips before standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I will find you,” she whispered an inch from his skin. 

The stars shined brighter blocking out Madi until he couldn’t feel her touch. Seer blinked rapidly while trying to reach out and grab her but his hands were tied down. “Madi!”

“You’re awake. Good.” 

Seer looked away from the blinding ceiling light to Choi seated across from him. Choi walked over to the door to knock on it once. Immediately the three Readers and Projector entered and got back into position while Choi sat back down. “Let’s continue.”

Seer barely managed a shout before the assault began throwing him back into his memories.

Seer was following Reed around the abbey complaining about the lack of a specific food he couldn’t quite remember. They stopped in a room filled with monitors that showed every part of the abbey and some sections of outer space. Seer paused in his complaints to peer at one of the satellite monitors. He followed an incoming speck of light as it got larger in the camera. Reed ignored him to type on one of the many keyboards. Suddenly Seer let out a screech and pointed to a monitor that showed the sky above the abbey. A ship was headed straight for them. “What is that? It’s not good! Look at it. It’s all wrong, red and hungry.” He grabbed Reed by the shoulders and shook him. “Listen to me! Are you listening? Hide the women and children. The monsters are coming."

"Calm down." Reed cajoled trying to get Seer to sit down.

"No! You only have so much time." Seer yelled evading him. His eyes locked onto one of the buttons by a console. He slammed his hand on it sounding an alarm.

The few people that could be seen in the outside cameras immediately disappeared. A few men in shepherd’s garb came running into the room. "Bishop, what's going on?" One of them asked.

"Swords. Guns. Grenades. A bazooka. Do you have any of those?" Seer demanded.

Reed considered Seer for a moment. "Go to the armory. Get everyone armed, follow protocol nine-two-seven. We are going to have some visitors. But do not fire unless I say so." The men quickly ran out of the room. Reed followed them tugging Seer behind him. "Come along. Let us see if they are men or monsters."

"Men are monsters. Monsters are men. They say they went too far the first time. They weren't ready for the blackness of space. It drove them insane. You go out there, I better have an axe," Seer said as Reed got them to the front door of the abbey; the bishop managing to pick up a gun along the way.

They stopped next to the pile of chopped wood for the fireplaces. Seer watched as the ship flew by low and several screaming men jumped off. The screams weren’t of rage or fear, just pure screams. The screams built in volume as they ran straight for the abbey. 

Reed had taken a step back at their arrival but he began screaming, "Fire!" Immediately gun fire erupted from the windows of the abbey. Seer grabbed one of the pieces of wood nearby chucking it at a man ten feet away from Reed. It hit the man square in the face, if the thrown object had been an axe, the attacker would have been dead. Instead he was only stunned for a few moments but it was long enough for Reed to bring up his gun and shoot. The man took four bullets to the face before falling down dead. The gunfire mowed row after row of screaming invaders. Finally instead of more men jumping out, the ship headed back for outer space. 

Seer turned to look at Reed who was staring at him stunned. "How?" Reed asked bewildered.

"I told you I needed an axe," Seer said before walking back into the abbey.

Seer screamed in relief as the pain stopped. He leaned as far forward as he could letting his head hang down.

“This is the twentieth memory that happened after the Fall. I want before the Fall,” Choi said his words lined with agitation.

“I’m sorry, sir. I told you we have no control over what we pull out,” the main Reader responded.

“Actually,” a new voice said, “I’ve noticed a pattern. I think I can direct us.”

“Do it.”

Seer growled as he entered his office. He turned on the forty-two inch monitor that was wall mounted directly across from his desk. He angrily began jabbing numbers on the remote control. In the few seconds it took for a woman to appear on the screen, Seer had nearly tapped a hole in the carpet. 

"Hey, Xander,” she said immediately tapping on a keyboard. “Give me one second and I'll put you through to Rupert." Then she disappeared off the screen and classical music played through the speakers.

Giles appeared on the screen, rubbing his temples while seated at his desk. "Hello, Xander. Tell me you have some good news."

"I just had an attack on my base.” Seer yanked at his hair before he began to pace. “The wards kept them out but they nearly killed three of my people as they were coming back from patrol. My youngest Slayers Amy and Harper, and Madi.”

“Are they okay?”

“Back up barely arrived in time. Amy was shot in the stomach but the doctor said she’ll pull through.” He stopped pacing. “She was shot with a gun. We were attacked by a pack of demons with guns and walkie talkies. Someone was controlling them. Someone who wants to use modern warfare.”

Giles took off his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose. “With your report, in the past two days every single one of our bases have been attacked. Were you able to learn anything?”

Seer nodded solemnly. “Harper managed to hold onto a walkie for a few seconds before it was smashed but we have a name. The Alliance.”

Choi’s voice rang through the pain. “Keep going. Pull more.”

A searing mental strike pulled Seer away from his office to steps leading down to a workout room. He could hear a female grunting and solid thumps. As he walked down the stairs he saw that Buffy was the cause of the noise as she tried to demolish a punching bag hanging from the ceiling. She began a series of quick fast jabs ending in a kick that sent the bag flying across the room. Seer sat down on the last step, not saying a word.

“That makes twenty people in two weeks,” she huffed. “In the past three years we’ve lost maybe fifty. Whatever’s coming is beyond bad.”

Seer locked eyes with Buffy before pointedly looking down at the small wooden box decorated with intricate carvings that he held in his hands. 

She refused to follow his gaze and crossed her arms. “There are more demons every day. Stronger, faster, and harder to kill.”

“Buffy.”

“And,” she continued, “the Alliance corporation manages to gain more people each month with its fake promises.”

“Buffy.”

“Do they really think they can bring down the Protectors of Earth. Us? That is so not going to happen. How is our knowledge gathering phase going? Do we know the head honcho I have to kill yet?” she asked her eyes pleading with him.

Seer sighed before answering, “No.”

Pain throttled his brain as he went from sedately sitting to running the fastest he ever had in his life trying to keep pace with Buffy, Faith, and ten other senior Slayers. The destination was a rundown warehouse that glowed a sickly green. He shifted his grip on his axe as he followed three Slayers that veered off to the right towards the back entrance. The women reached the door first settling into a crouch as they waited for Seer and the other Watchers to join them. The eldest Slayer had her ear cocked to the side and began a silent countdown using her hand starting at five. At zero, she opened the door and Seer led the charge in.

Seer gestured for the others to spread out as they canvased the first empty room. The sickly green light bled through the walls, getting brighter as they moved towards the center of the building. They used the intensity of light to lead them up to the second floor where they could hear two female voices chanting. “Go. Go,” Seer urged.

They crept past several rooms before finding a door pulled off its hinges. Several large, support pillars blocked sections of the immense room. However Seer’s eyes focused on a pale and skeleton-thin Dawn seated in the center of a circle of red markings with Illyria and Willow looming over her. Illyria spoke loudly and clearly in a language that hurt Seer’s ears while Willow’s words were soft and seemed to interweave themselves through Illyria’s chanting. Willow held up a small wooden box with carvings inlaid in the wood.

“Dawn!” Buffy screamed from the other side of the room at the same time that Illyria plunged her hand into Dawn’s chest. The slayer charged into the room headed straight for them but Illyria pulled her hand out free of blood and clutching a small ball of green light who’s hue changed to a brilliant emerald. Illyria quickly placed the ball into the box Willow held and with one more shouted word sealed it shut.

Buffy slid into her sister, scrambling to hold her close while attempting to make sure there wasn’t a hole in her chest. “What did you do?” she screamed at Willow.

“It’s been killing her, Buffy, ever since Glory cut her. We are trying to save her,” Willow said with a hoarse voice.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded gently stroking her sister’s hair.

Dawn coughed. “I didn’t want you to know. In case it didn’t work. I didn’t want you to see this. I’m sorry.”

“Everyone back out. Guard the perimeter.” Seer snapped loudly causing many of the Watchers to jump. “Now!” The room quickly emptied until it was only Willow, Faith, Illyria, and the Summer sisters.

“You think you can maybe die without me,” Buffy softly scolder her. “Never. Not in a million years.”

Dawn’s coughs racked her body as she tried to speak. “I love you.” Then her body stilled and her breathing stopped.

Tears begin to fall down Buffy’s face as she kissed her sister’s forehead. “I love you too.” She stood up gracefully her sister in her arms.

“What of the Key?” Illyria asked tilting her head to the side. Buffy didn’t respond however as she continued out of the room. 

Seer felt tears sliding down his own cheeks and then someone was holding his hand. “Let’s go,” Madi whispered her green eyes glowing emerald with unshed tears. He heard Choi screaming, “Don’t lose him, we finally found it,” but his voice faded as they reached a sunny afternoon setting above an ocean whose waves were gently crashing onto a sandy beach.


	12. Chapter 12

“Protect me? I haven’t needed anyone’s protection in decades. I’m the protector of protectors. I am a knight. So my armor’s a little dented and my sword’s got a couple dings. Nothing a bit of oil and duct tape won’t fix. I’ve won every war I’ve ever been in with this thing. Wait, I think I lost my sword. Where is it? Have you seen it? There’s a war coming and I have to have it. If I don’t have it, we might not win. You’ve got to help me find it.” 

“Please, Seer, the Alliance is coming. You have to hide.”

“Oh god. Did we already lose?”

\- Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

“It’s quiet here,” Seer said barely above a whisper.

Madi nodded. “All the sanctuaries are quiet.” She sat up and pointed to a splashing, large fin in the distance. “This is Nemo’s. He really doesn’t come out of the water much.”

“Oh.” He traced a circle in the sand with his finger, over and over again. “Are you my wife?”

“Do you remember getting married?”

Seer stared at the woman sitting next to him. “You,” he paused, “wore blue tennis shoes that day because if something went wrong, you wanted to be able to run,” another pause, “and you had nothing else that was blue.” Madi smiled at him but it didn’t reach her sorrowful eyes. Seer put his hand over hers and said, “I can remember.”

She nodded again. “Sometimes.”

Seer shook his head; he thought he could hear a light tapping. “Why I can’t remember all the time?”

“Because it-”

Seer interrupted her, “Who’s that tapping at my door? Do you hear that?”

“He’s trying to pull you back out. You’re almost out of time in here.” She gripped his face in her hands. “He’s getting closer; you need to escape. You can’t let him have it. She can help. You have to save-”

Seer wasn’t even able to glimpse the real world before being shoved into a memory. He let out a feral shriek as he swung an axe neatly beheading a demon in front of him. The demon exploded covering everyone in a five foot radius in gore but no one noticed. Seer stood on a rolling hilltop where women, men, and monsters battled furiously. He ducked another demon’s swing before hacking at it only to step back as Vi smoothly stepped in stabbing it in forehead. 

“We need the delta Slayers to go to sector three. Gun Watchers to sector ten,” A male voice said in his ear.

“Vi go!” Seer shouted, “Sector three.” The Slayer saluted before leaping over two demons, ripping off one’s head on the way. Seer fought demon after demon all the while listening to the voice speaking in his ear nonstop. 

“Echo Slayers to sector five.”

“Enact backup plan three.”

“We’ve lost sector seven. Retreat.”

“Too many in sector twenty-one. Retreat.”

“Enact backup plan seven.” 

“All gamma Slayers killed in sector nine. Retreat.”

Buffy screamed in his ear, “There’s too many. Backup plan nine! Backup plan nine!”

“No!” Seer shouted looking to the cresting hill where Willow stood whipping magic around. Further down the hill were a circle of women and men also making arcs of magic in the air. He began running towards her jumping over bodies and injured people. “Don’t!”

A claw dug into his arm into his arm and he was flung to the ground. Before the demon could finish him off a Slayer with a crossbow saved him. He was up in a moment, running again. Now Willow was chanting holding a small wooden box. She paused in her chanting and by chance locked eyes with Seer. “Willow, please!” he screamed.

“I’m so sorry,” her hoarse voice whispered in his ear.

A demon made to throw a javelin at her and with a gesture of her hand it erupted into flames. Then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and white colored her roots before bleeding down her hair. Hundreds of women and men fighting thousands of demons all stopped and stared at Willow who began to glow green. In a choreographed moment all the monsters’ mouths began to open as they looked up to the reddening sky. In moments the sky burned turning a bright orange and tornadoes of fire began to touch down on the hill but only where demons stood, eyes wide with terror.

“It’s working.” Seer breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly the box shattered and blood seeped through Willow’s shirt. Seer looked in every direction finally landing on a man standing amidst the monsters with a rifle. Fire began to swallow everything around it, men and women as well as monsters. The ground cracked and split spilling forth more scorching flames. Seer saw friend after friend being killed before he grabbed his head in horrible pain. He screamed as his skull was destroyed in his head.

Without warning the burning world was gone, in its place stood a lush beautiful forest. The only sound was Seer’s screaming. He shrieked until the pain lessened and he rolled to a different memory.

He sat at a large oak table along with Giles, Willow, Faith, and Buffy. At the exact center of the table sat the small wooden box. “This is a bad plan,” Seer was in the middle of saying.

“That’s why it’s not our main plan but a backup plan,” Willow argued. “It’s not even our first backup plan.”

“Yeah Xand, it’s like the ninth,” Faith added.

“It shouldn’t be in our plans at all.” Seer stood up abruptly. “Or are we forgetting the last time that someone tried to harness the energy of the Key. It doesn’t have the connection to Buffy anymore so how are you suppose to stop it if it all goes wrong.”

“I plan to infuse it with a new connection, I’m not an idiot, Xander,” Willow spoke firmly.

“Oh and who’s this new connection?”

“Madi.”

Seer was silent for a few moments before shaking his head. “I must have vampire dust in my ear because I thought you just said Madi. As in my Madi?”

“It’s Madi’s connection to you. It will be the tether between you and the Key. If I could tether you directly to the Key, I would but I can’t,” Willow said.

“Why not?” Seer snapped “And why the hell would you want to connect me to the Key?”

“First,” Willow held up a finger. “Mystical mumbo jumbo.”

“Did you just-”

“Utt.” Willow interrupted him wearing a very stern resolve face. She held up another finger. “Second, I don’t want to connect you to the key but Illyria isn’t here or I’d use her, which leads us to third. You are the One Who Sees, you can’t die. You are a constant in the magical world which makes you extremely strong in a magical sense.”

“What do you need from Madi?” Seer crossed his arms.

Willow made several moves to speak before she managed, “A small, tiny piece of her soul.”

He knocked over his chair but before he could rage more Giles said, “Xander, she already said yes. She understands the risk and she’s agrees it’s necessary.”

Seer kicked the downed chair once. “Well, I guess we’re all decided then. Fine. So I’m connected to the Key but say everything goes wrong, then what?”

“The piece of Madi’s soul encompasses the Key to protect it from you and it’s planted in your mind. Your mind becomes a trap to hold it safe from everyone else.” Willow paused before adding, “Then we find Illyria as fast as we can, in case it makes you go insane.” 

Seer fell to the ground while the scene continue and a roaring cacophony blocked out all sounds. He looked all around the room before his eyes locked on Madi standing in the corner. Madi in her suit the color of wood with intricate stitching all around the hems, a perfect match to the small wooden box. A sudden thought hit Seer, ‘Madi’s eyes are blue, not green.’ 

She gently picked him up off the ground and holding his hand tight led him into blackness. They stopped in a grassy field, the morning light illuminating a small tent in the distance. Seer ripped his hand from hers. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded.

Madi crossed her arms over her chest, “I have told you. A hundred times. A thousand times. But you can’t remember, it gets all twisted. You think I’m just another voice in your head.” She reached out to him cradling his face. “You weren’t meant to hold the Key this long. This was never meant to happen. You were right, it all went so wrong.”

He looked at his wife’s soul and placed his hands on top of hers. “I have to escape. The Alliance can’t have the Key.”

“Yes but not without saving them first,” Madi insisted. “They’re family.”

“My family’s dead.” Seer’s head drooped pushing her hands down. “I couldn’t save my girls.”

“No. No,” she said while pushing his head back up. “Can’t you see it? J.L.? Can’t you see our baby?”

“Jessie Lavelle.”

“Must be a family name."


	13. Chapter 13

“Hahahahahaha. Bwhwhahahahahah. Mwhahahaha. Heheeheheh. Ha. Ha. Ha. Hahahahahaha. Bwhwhahahahahah. Mwhahahaha. Heheeheheh. Ha. Ha. Ha. Hahahahahaha. Bwhwhahahahahah. Mwhahahaha. Heheeheheh. Ha. Ha. Ha.Hahahahahaha. Bwhwhahahahahah. Mwhahahaha. Heheeheheh. Ha. Ha. Ha.”

“How long has he been doing this?”

“Maniacal laugh. Maniacal laugh.”

\- Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

Seer opened his eyes, an intense drive briefly drowning out all other thoughts. He was completely alone in the room. “I always said the sword is way mightier than the pen. And an axe is ten times better than that. But today, today little pen, you are quite mighty.” Using the pen he stole from Choi, he pushed and pulled at the strap holding down his right wrist. He need only one more shove with the pen before the strap came undone. “Jackpot!” he cheered, quickly unbuckling himself from the rest of his bindings.

“Okay, okay,” he said while getting out of the chair. He tiptoed with exaggeration over to the door. “No. Not this way.” He spun slowly taking in every aspect of the room. “Yes. The great escape. Take two.” In the corner, a vent, big enough for a small man, was slatted in between the stones. 

Seer used the pen to help pry off the vent cover and hastily crawled inside backwards such that he could replace the cover. He continued to scoot backwards away from his exit until he reached a fork in the ventilation. “Now where did they leave the armory?” It took a few minutes of arguing with himself before he chose to go left. 

He crawled sliding easily in the shaft until he reached a vent that went upward. A rope he had placed nearly a year ago still hung down the shaft. Seer pulled himself to the top without too much exertion before heading to the right. Now as he moved through the vent he could hear people and the echo of soldiers’ feet on stone. He paused at one slatted opening when he heard a shout and a scuffle. When he peered through the vent all he saw was a set of legs on the floors being dragged out of the room. Seer shook his head, “Armory. I have to save Jessie. I won’t fail this time.”

Ten minutes later he popped out into a room filled to the brim with all kinds of weaponry. He grabbed a pistol with his left hand, then he picked up a tranquilizer gun in his right. “Lethal? Nonlethal? Lethal? Nonlethal?” he questioned weighing the guns.

The armory door creaked open revealing an Alliance soldier and immediately Seer’s right hand raised to fire. The man went down without a word. Seer nodded to himself. “Nonlethal.” He put the pistol down to drag the soldier into the room so he could shut the armory door. With that done, he stuck a rifle underneath the door handle and grabbed handfuls of tranquilizer darts. He looked around the room, thoughtfully asking, “Yes?” before answering himself, “Yes.”

He shimmied his way back through the vent shooting legs as he went. However, in some cases, he noticed that the Alliance soldiers he shot were tied up sitting on the floor. Twenty minutes later he found the vent to the chapel. With a scream, he kicked the vent cover off. 

Shepherds, priests, bishops, and non lay people stared as he came flying out of the vent. Seer shot rapid fire catching two Alliance men in the shoulder, one in the leg, and Thomas in the stomach. People made a path as he stalked towards the fallen archbishop. He crouched down next to Thomas looking him over before flicking him in the nose. “Doesn’t pay to be evil does it? Actually I bet it does pay to be evil. It took a while before I got paid for being good.”

“Drop your weapon!” a man shouted, “Or I’ll shoot.” Seer turned his head to the left where a single soldier held Anne hostage, his gun roughly pressed into her temple. He rose slowly and the soldier cautioned him, “I will kill everyone here. They mean nothing to me.”

“Please, do what he says,” Anne begged. Her right hand clutched at the arm around her neck but her left hand held a small tactical knife.

Seer dropped his weapon with a smirk. “You should always watch a Watcher.”

“Good, now-” the soldier was in the middle of saying when Anne stroke. She slammed her knife into his leg while knocking her elbow back into his face. Once he fell to the ground, she cracked the hilt of the bloody knife on the top of his skull rendering him unconscious. She wiped her blade off on his clothes before standing with a similar smirk.

“Seer?” Book’s voice came from the middle of the crowd but Seer ignored it. His eyes searched for something.

“Did I make it in time? Did I save my Jessie?” Seer asked shoving people out of the way. When he saw J.L. he rushed to grab her up in a hug. 

“Whoa!” J.L. shouted as Seer swung her around. “I’m not her.”

Seer set her down and brushed back a piece of her hair. He whispered, “I see her in you.” Anne stepped up beside her daughter. “And Madi in you,” he added. “I see my family.”

“You know.” J.L. beamed at him.

The doors to the chapel were flung open to reveal an empty hallway. Choi’s voice rang out, “It appears that I underestimated you. I won’t make that mistake again. Now throw your weapon into the hall or we will fire into the room.”

Seer gripped his gun tightly. Mal stepped up beside him. “Might I suggest we do what the man says? We don’t know how many he has on his side and all we have to our side is a tranq gun and a knife.” 

Anne nodded sliding her knife back up her sleeve while Seer looked between Mal and his gun. She put a hand on his arm. “We can’t fight if we’re dead.”

“Do it, Gramps.” J.L. urged before whispering, “Remember Watchers never travel alone.”

“They’ve had us for three days. Help should be here any moment. We just have to hang on,” Anne added. 

“Protectors side by side,” Seer muttered before chucking his weapon away.

Choi, flanked by ten soldiers armed with pistols, entered the room. “Good. It seems you still have some of your senses. Now I need everyone to move back against the wall.”

Seer reached behind him finding Anne and J.L.’s wrists. They stayed behind him while everyone else moved to the wall some faster than others. 

“Interesting,” Choi said. “But everyone means everyone. Move back or be shot.”

“It’ll be okay, Grandpa,” Anne said under her breath before breaking his hold and moving away. J.L. followed her mother after patting Seer on the arm.

“You think you have me?” Seer shouted. “You think you can capture light? A star in the dark. I will always fly away on my magic carpet, or spaceship, or airplane. Listen what I’m trying to say is I have a lot of things that can fly. So I will always escape. Yes that’s the point. Evil can only triumph when good gives up and what does good say? Never give up. Never surrender!”

Choi disparagingly looked him up and down. “You are beyond broken, Harris.”

“Yes. Well, maybe.” Seer shrugged. Then jerkily he pointed at Choi exclaiming, “Or I could be the best distraction ever. Go me with my crazy self.”

“What?”

“I see a ripple in the air.”

Ten men and women clothed in traditional Brown Coat gear appeared behind the soldiers and simultaneously slammed the hilt of a sword or butt of a gun into the enemies’ head.

Claws dug into the front of Choi’s throat and a pale bleached blonde clad in a leather duster leaned around the commander. He spoke in a British accent, “Wouldn’t try anything, mate. It was a long flight and I’m feeling a tad bit peckish.”

“Spike!” J.L. cried out excitedly. “You made it.”

“No,” Choi hissed, “you’re dead.”

Spike yanked the commander’s head to the side. “Does anyone have a problem if I eat this guy?” Several of the shepherds gasped as ridges appeared on his face and fangs sprouted in his mouth.

A tanned, thirty-something woman on Spike’s left, who had been staring at Seer, jerked at his remark. “Not the time or place. We need to go. More Alliance could be here any moment.”

Spike sighed, “Angie, you are always spoiling my dinner.” He spun Choi around punching him as soon as his face was visible. Choi crumbled like a sack of potatoes.

“Spike,” Seer said slowly. “I saw you in my memories. You’re... you’re...” He looked down trying to get his thoughts to merge together. “An asshole.”

Spike smiled before grabbing Seer in a hug that involved a lot of back slapping from Spike. “Not fully insane yet, eh?”

“I would disagree.” Several of the shepherds said with one or two bishops chiming in.


	14. Chapter 14

“Reed, you’d let me know if I was acting crazy? If I’d gone off the deep end?”

“Of course, Seer. Why?”

“Something doesn’t feel right.”

\- Archives from the Southdown Base

* * *

“Move out,” Angie ordered gesturing towards the entrance of the chapel. “Let’s go people. One time only, are we offering a free ride off this planet. Anyone who needs off, follow me.”

Everyone in the chapel followed Angie, her team, and three more Brown Coats that had been hiding in the hall. They moved quickly and efficiently out of the abbey and through the woods. The open field where previously Mal and Anne’s ships had been parked was occupied solely by an Alliance cruiser.

Mal cursed in Mandarin, “Where’ve they taken my ship?”

“You the captain of the firefly?” One of the furthest back of Angie’s team asked.

“That’d be me.” 

“Don’t worry,” he said smiling. “We managed to get a wave to your pilot that he best be moving before the Alliance arrived. Your boat’s on Tiberion waiting for us to bring you to them.” Mal nodded his thanks and the man gave a salute.

Angie hushed the group as she led them along the edge of the woods’ cover around the large ship. Twenty minutes later they reach another open field where two small sleek ships were docked.

Angie whistled gaining everyone’s attention. “Everyone needing a ride to a planet of their choice, please get on the ship on the left. Otherwise this is where we part ways. It’s been a pleasure saving you all.” 

Seer stood between J.L. and Anne with Spike behind him when Shepherd approached them. Shepherd gave a sigh before saying, “I have a feeling this is where we part ways.”

Seer looked down as J.L. hooked her arm around his. She smirked at him before saying, “Who knows, Book, our ways might meet again.”

Seer stuck out his free hand. “Maybe I’ll be fixed next time you see me.” Shepherd shook his hand with a smile.

“He was bloody crazy before all this happen too, you know.” Spike said and baulked as everyone looked at him. “Hey, you never heard his plan to get back from Chichén Itzá, when we got lost after getting smashed one night.”

“Did it work?” Seer wondered aloud.

Spike wave his question away. “Beside the point.”

“Come on, Grandpa. Let’s get you in your right mind,” Anne said as she gently tugged him towards the right ship.

“What if I want to be in my left mind? Or both? Minds are important things. Mine seems to broken.” He laughed. “It cracked like an egg.”

“Okay, into the ship now, Gramps.” J.L. added her own pushing as well. Angie waited for them to head up the gangplank before following. 

Anne led Seer to a room with a large bed. “You can rest in here if you want to. I’ll be back with food in a little bit.”

Angie leaned into the room. “Anne? We need you.” She stared at Seer looking a little unhinged. 

“Yeah. I’m coming.”

Seer clutched at Anne’s hand when she tried to leave. “Did I save the day? Did we win the war?” 

She nodded. “You did save the day. But we’re still working on the war.”

Seer let her go slumping down on the bed. He closed his eyes entering the screaming painful darkness and waited. Things scratched and pushed at him while other things caressed and stroked him, still he waited. Someone knocked on his door startling him. It was J.L. with a tray of food.

“It’s going to take a couple of days to get home,” She said putting the tray on a small table. “You don’t have to stay in here if you don’t want to.”

“Have you seen Madi? She wasn’t waiting for me.”

J.L.’s face fell a bit before returning to a neutral expression. “I haven’t seen her. Maybe you need to wait a bit longer.”

Seer nodded laying back down. He searched the excruciating darkness before breaking into memories many of which he had seen before while at the abbey. Finally he fell into a restaurant where Madi and him were sitting at a table sharing an obscenely large sundae. At another table the Madi harboring the Key jumped up and firmly grasped his hand pulling him away to a sanctuary, the ocean again.

“I saved the day. I saved you,” Seer said happily holding her close.

She smiled widely, “It’s what you do best.”

“Why weren’t you waiting for me? We were suppose to meet on Persephone,” he said.

Her smile faltered, “I got turned around I suppose.”

He pulled her down to sit beside him on the sand. “It reminds me of the beach back at Sunnydale.” He let out a big sigh. “The war was major sucky. I almost didn’t make it here.”

“Well you’re here now. So let’s enjoy the view while we can.” They sat staring into the horizon not speaking their heads leaned against each other.

“Madi?” Seer spoke panic in his voice. “Something’s pulling at me.”

She swore, “Wake up! You have to wake up!”

Seer was ripped from her arms and thrown into a forest breaking through tree branches before crashing into the ground. A ginormous, hideous monster opened its mouth in a roar yet nothing could be heard through the cacophony. The monster grabbed him and threw him against a tree. Seer added his own screams as his leg broke. The monster got a hold of him again. 

Seer sat up in bed screaming, a faint pain still pulsed in his limbs from the fall and broken leg. J.L. fell off the bed screeching obscenities. The two of them stopped yelling about the same time. She had a hand clutched to her chest and was taking several deep breaths. “Are you okay?” she managed to say after a few moments.

Seer shook his head. “Don’t fall asleep. That’s when the monsters come. They come during the day and the night. They come in the black.”

“Okay. Okay,” she repeated. The constant hum of the ship’s engine switched off causing J.L. to smile. “Well this is our stop. Time to get off.” 

Seer followed her out of the room and off the ship. He looked at the enclosed metal bay but wasn’t allowed to stand and examine it for long. J.L. led him away through hallways, open rooms, and down stairs with Angie, Anne, and Spike bringing up the rear. A hallway that dead-ended into a door announced they had reached their destination. J.L. opened the door, beckoning him inside.

Red markings made a rough circle on the floor with a large ring of candles around that. Four people stood in a corner, three of them talking quietly. However, once Seer entered the room, the three immediately silenced and took a position around the circle in points of a square leaving an opening for the fourth person. 

When the candle light revealed a woman tinged with blue Seer began to scream, “Demon! Demon!” Four sets of hands tried to calm him down but he continued to struggle. “It’s your fault! All your fault!”

“Xander, Xander! Calm down, mate!”

“It’s okay, Gramps. She’s on our side.”

“Grandpa, Illyria’s only here to help.”

None of the shouted pleas did anything to stop Seer’s accusations. Illyria moved forward moving a small wooden box she was holding to one hand. Then she slapped him in the face. “Silence,” she hissed and he snapped his mouth shut. “I regret I was not there,” she added after a moment. She gestured towards the circle.

Seer sat down meekly with a quiet thump. Illyria took her place and began to loudly chant in harsh words that seem to be ripped out of her throat. The other three began to whisper softer words that wove in between Illyria’s. She held her hand above Seer’s head and the volume increased.

His hands flew to his head as imaginary ice picks jabbed into his eyes. He let anguish yell after yell as the pain increased with the volume of the chanting. Writhing on the floor in pain, he began begging for them to stop.

Suddenly the pain vanished and the chanting stopped. The lid to the wooden box was sealed shut. The three witches fell down in a heap, one starting to snore.

“Is that it? Is he fixed?” J.L. asked quietly.

Seer looked around and shook his head roughly. “A fix? How does one fix an abyss? Do you just jump across?”

“You’re messing about, right?” Spike let out an uneasy chuckle. “Just having a laugh?”

“I need someone to jump with me.” Seer stood up. “Madi, you in? Madi,” he called. “Nononononono. Madi! Baby, where are you?”

“Maybe he needs some time to heal?” Anne suggested.

“Everything we read said this would fix him. Willow’s journal itself said it,” Angie spoke with anger.

Illyria walked to Seer who was still screaming for Madi. She looked him over critically before reaching out and snapping his neck.

Seer’s life didn’t flash before his eyes as he died. He merely saw Spike, Anne, J.L., and Angie screaming at Illyria before utter darkness stole him away.


	15. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy I was able to complete this story and share it with all you guys. I don't have too much other fan fiction but I do have some original stuff you can find on alittleauthor.com if you want to read any more of my stuff. Now, onto the fic.

Xander opened his eyes slowly focusing on a child’s sun painted in the middle of a light blue ceiling. The bed he laid on felt soft while the blanket that had been thrown over him was a sharp wooly contrast. He sat up seeing two doors and found a bathroom behind the first door he checked. Clothes and towels rested upon a porcelain sink.

 

Twenty minutes later a clean Xander emerged from a steaming bathroom. He decided to check the second door which revealed a hallway. Looking left and right, Xander shrugged before going left. He had been walking for a bit when he heard children giggling. Four small children chased each other in a kid’s playroom on his right. 

 

“Hey guys,” he called leaning against the doorframe. They changed direction running straight for him only to stop a few inches from his legs and chirp a greeting. He crouched down sitting back on his heels. “Does anyone know where I can find Spike?” Four heads shook back and forth. “How about Anne or J.L.?”

 

One tiny hand gripped his and begin to pull. Xander laughed, “I’m coming. I’m coming.”

 

The little girl pulled him along for ten minutes before stopping to point at a door. She gave him a thumbs up then skipped back towards the playroom. Xander knocked on the door waiting for a response. J.L. voice came through the door, “It’s open.”

 

“I’m glad that someone raised my a-bunch-of-times-great grandchildren right,” he said seriously as he entered what appeared to be J.L.’s bedroom. She sat playing on a console while chewing the head of a pen.

 

She jumped up. “Gramps! Are you, you?”

 

“I feel like me, me. Who according to Spike is still crazy. He’s probably not half wrong. Can I sit?” he asked gesturing at her bed.

 

“Yes, of course.” She shoved a bunch of clutter off the bed onto the floor. “Please sit.”

 

“So.” He started and paused thinking.

 

“So?” she asked sitting backward to see him.

 

“Anne named you Lavelle? She really is like Madi,” Xander said with a small grin.

 

“It’s a family name. It’s honor to have it,” she spoke in a monotone as if repeating something that had been told to her hundreds of times.

 

“Which is why you go by J.L.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

For a minute neither said anything. Xander was trying to think what he wanted to ask not only about himself but also about her. ‘Me questions first.’ he thought to himself before breaking the silence, “Illyria killed me and I got better? Which is a little weird ‘cause I died more than a few times in the past five hundred years. Why didn’t I get better before?”

 

“We didn’t know she was going to kill you,” she protested but he made a forget it gesture and she continued. “Illyria said that the reason this killing fixed you was because the Key was gone. For the Key to stay properly inside you it had to break your mind. If it allowed your mind to be fixed it could be shoved out. She said that you would have healed eventually on your own but she couldn’t stand you jabbering and there was a ninety-five percent chance killing you would fix it. Her words, not mine.”

 

Xander let out a short laugh. “Illyria never played well with others. She lacked tack. Not as bad as Cordy but then no one's as bad as her.” He smiled sadly thinking back on a deceased friend.

 

“You’re up. Still crazy?” Spike asked as he leaned against the doorframe. Both J.L. and Xander jumped when he spoke.

 

J.L. threw a book at him. “Wear a bell.” He stepped to the side letting it sail past him.

 

“Still a vampire?” Xander shot back.

 

“For seven hundred years now.” He resumed his original position. “Which welcome to the centuries old club. You still look pretty good, mate.”

 

“You don’t.”

 

“Oi!” Spike shouted.

 

Xander pointed at the vampire’s claws. “You have claws instead of hands. Is looking like the Master only a few centuries away? Are you going to lose your hair? Oh, oh, are you going to wear a wig? Or is Rogaine for Men still around?

 

Spike snatched the book off the ground to chuck at Xander’s face. “I liked you better when you were a gibbering idiot. Wait a minute, it seems nothing’s changed.” Xander didn’t evade the book in time its impact knocked him flat onto the bed. When Xander sat up he was smiling and Spike smirked back at him. Spike leaned to look in the hallway. “I think it must be family bonding time. Come find me when you’re done.” He let Anne take his place in doorway giving them space.

 

“Hello, Anne.”

 

“Grandpa,” she said with a smile.

 

Xander shook his head letting out a small chuckle. “You know, I don’t know about all this Gramps and Grandpa stuff. I was still working on dadhood when the Fall happened. Didn’t you only find out about me a year ago when I ran into J.L.?” 

 

“No.” Anne and J.L. spoke at the same time. “Of course not.”

 

“The last of the Protectors of Earth have been looking for you since the Fall. Especially all of the Harris line.” Anne came into the room to lean against her daughter’s chair.

 

“The Harris Line? A whole big line just from Jessie?” He leaned back a bit.

 

“And Alex.”

 

“What?” Xander snapped staring at J.L. in horror. Anne was also looking at her in horror while J.L. didn’t look too please with herself either. “The surprise... at Persephone... She was pregnant. I should have known.” He slammed his fist into the bed. “She gave in way too easily.”

 

“We had planned to do this delicately.” Anne smacked J.L. on the arms a few times. “It was only suppose to be Angie and myself before J.L. invited herself and Wolf aboard my ship.”

 

“Angie.” Xander thought back on the woman who had led them from the abbey. “Short for Angela?”

 

Anne nodded. “You have more than just us but we didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

 

“No.” Xander’s eyes were a bit too wide. “More family is good.” He shook his body trying to get rid of nerves. “I can’t wait to meet everyone. I just hope I’m worth the hype if you’ve spent five hundred years looking for me.”

 

“More than worth it,” J.L. assured him.

 

“We’ve done more than just search for you. We’ve been fighting,” Anne said.

 

“Fighting?”

 

“The Alliance is still around,” she said firmly, “and a Harris never runs from evil.”

 

“Yeah,” Spike poked his head in. “but I’ve definitely seen a Harris scream like a little girl and speedwalk away from evil.”

 

“Get out of my room!” J.L. shouted throwing another book. “We are having a moment.”

 

Xander laughed at the bickering for a moment before focusing on the pride swelling in his chest at a legacy that had lasted for five hundred years. He thought that time and the Key had lost him all the family he would ever have, but his family had grown. The Harrises weren’t known for being drunk layabouts but as protectors, fighters. If only he’d had more time with Madi and Jessie, but there in J.L.’s smile was Jessie, in Anne’s eyes Madi shined, he hoped to see his son in Angie, and something of home in all the others. 

 

The End


End file.
